By Jon Marks
To celebrate the end of Passover, Israeli Tai Baribo, leading goal scorer in Major League Soccer, joined his friends in a festive Mimouna ceremony. It’s a tradition originated by Moroccan Jews, which has since been adopted in other countries.
That came less than 24 hours after the pride of Eilat had come off the bench to notch goal No. 7 in the Philadelphia Union’s 3-0 win over Atlanta United FC. It snapped a three-game goalless stretch for Baribo, fresh off a two-game stint playing for the Israeli national team in Hungary.
The fact that first-year coach Bradley Carnell had chosen to sit his top gun certainly came as a surprise to most, Baribo included. But rather than sulk, he simply waited for his turn, then capitalized.
“It’s the decision of the coach,” said the 27-year-old Baribo, who found out five days prior that he wouldn’t be starting for the first time all season. “Obviously, every player wants to be on the field. I didn’t expect it. But I came to the game. I did my job. He would’ve called me up sooner, but we got a red card [leaving the Union a man down for the final 39 minutes]. Remember, I didn’t play for 10 months, so this is not the first time.”
That’s a reference to Baribo’s arrival here midway through the 2023 season, after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with a team option for another year. But the man who’d scored 27 goals playing in Austria found only limited playing time here until last season. That’s when he erupted for seven goals in an 11-game span, including a hat trick last July, finishing up with nine goals.
Brimming with confidence, he’s really taken off this season, scoring five goals in the team’s first two games — including another hat trick — then a sixth goal the following game, earning him MLS Player of the Month for March.
“It’s a big honor,” said Baribo, only the third Union player to win it in the franchise’s 15-year history. “It’s a good league with a lot of good players.”
While there’s no monetary prize or trophy that comes with it, Baribo won’t complain. After all, he’s got more on his mind than soccer considering most of his family and many friends remain in Israel. While he checks in with them daily and they stay up until all hours of the night watching his games, the news is a constant reminder of the situation.
“It’s the same there,” he replied when asked if anything has changed since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack turned his homeland into a war zone. “It’s intense.”
Baribo speaks haltingly about it for good reason. Among the 1,200 murdered during those attacks were two of the closest friends of his wife, Linoy. Among the hostages taken was the daughter of his personal trainer.
And with his father, Izhak, living not far from Gaza, it’s always on his mind.
Yet that didn’t stop him and Linoy from holding their wedding this past December outside Tel Aviv, which was attended by no less than 700 people. Following a honeymoon in Thailand, they returned here, where they’ve built a home away from home.
Among the friends they’ve made are many fellow transplanted Israelis, and they’ve become regulars at shul.
“I go to a synagogue in Lower Merion because most of my friends live there,” explained Baribo, who says he’s seen the Liberty Bell and visited some museums during his time here. “What I like first of all about the city is the people are nice. We’re treated well.”
As for married life, Tai says it’s not much different from before, having been with Linoy for eight years. The only thing that might change would be becoming parents, though that’s not currently in the works.
By the time it might be, whether or not they’re still in Philly is an open question.
“It’s the last year of my contract, but I’m trying not to think about it,” said Baribo, who recently went to see fellow Israeli Deni Avdija when his Portland Trail Blazers played the Sixers. “I don’t know if the club wants me to stay. But I believe in God and believe he’ll give me the best. I’m open-minded, but they have the option.”
Knowing he’s in their plans would surely ease those concerns. While his coach won’t commit to anything, he indicated the decision to bring him off the bench had more to do with the opposition than Baribo.
“The way we played in the first half showed that,” said Carnell, who didn’t insert Tai until the 74th minute but saw the move pay off with the clinching goal on a Baribo header 10 minutes later. “Against talented teams you try to take away time and space and commit to each other. We created chances through turnovers and he got his goal. I said to Tai after the game, ‘You got your goal.’ A striker wants his goal, and we have three very good strikers and two positions to compete. But credit Tai for the timing of his run in the box, even a man down. Tai did everything for his teammates, which shows what a great teammate we have. But we created turnover after turnover, so I’m happy with the decision.”
For his part, besides not starting, Baribo likes what he’s seen from his new coach.
“The team has changed the system a bit,” said Baribo, who has a tattoo on his arm of his late mother, Maya, who died of cancer when he was 11. “We’re pressing higher. Each coach has his own philosophy of football. I feel comfortable with it.”
The only thing better would be getting to wear his nation’s colors in the 2026 World Cup.
“It’s a big honor to be on the team,” said Baribo in the wake of Israel’s 4-2 loss to Norway, followed by a 2-1 win over Estonia, which leaves them third in their group. “My father, grandfather and cousin came to the game. But the traveling was difficult. We stopped in London, then flew to Budapest and had to drive two-and-a-half hours to Debrecen. I was there nine days.”
Now the leading goal scorer in the MLS is back, having just struck again. Exactly what comes next and when that will be, while Tai Baribo really can’t say for sure, there’s one thing he does know: He’ll be ready.
Jon Marks is a Philadelphia area freelance writer.
