On August 2nd, 2023, the Philadelphia Union announced the signing of Israeli international, Tai Baribo from Wolfsberger FC. Baribo’s acquisition was met with a good bit of optimism and came at a time when rumors of Julián Carranza’s departure were just starting to surface. Fans were hopeful Baribo could gel into the squad quickly as a reliable 3rd striking option while Carranza remained in Philadelphia, and eventually take over the starting role post-departure.
But the sale of Carranza didn’t happen as quickly as it was supposed to and Tai Baribo spent the majority of his first 10 months in Philadelphia warming the bench. Lots of people were left questioning whether Union should move on from Tai Baribo, a player Union spent a considerable amount of money on (by their standards, anyway), or not.
Now, with Carranza off for a new challenge abroad, and Baribo focused on doing what it takes to make an impact in Jim Curtin’s team, Union suddenly have one of the most inform strikers in Major League Soccer at their disposal. So how good has Tai Baribo actually been over the last few weeks?
Baribo’s slow start in Philly
In his first season in Philadelphia, the 26-year-old appeared only 12 times for Union totaling just 152 minutes, making just 1 start and having no goal contributions in that time. Fans expected Baribo’s integration into the squad to take some time as it typically does with new players entering Jim Curtin’s team, but Baribo seemed to be getting caught up to speed at an extremely slow pace. Even his debut for Union was strange, with Baribo waiting on the sideline for multiple minutes before checking in, only to have the final whistle blow on the ensuing free-kick.
Struggles continued at the start of year 2, the first full season for Israeli international in Philadelphia, as he had to delay his pre-season training due to an injury he picked up just before the team met back up after the offseason. Baribo’s first appearance of the season didn’t come until May 11th against Orlando, when he was subbed into the game in the 90th minute to try and draw Union level in a 3-2 game.
His rock-bottom may have come a bit earlier in the season, when the striker was set to start in the re-start of a postponed game between Union and Seattle Sounders for an injured Markus Anderson. But before the game could commence, Jim Curtin decided to use one of his substitutions on Tai Baribo in order to get Julián Carranza, who had just come back from injury, into the starting XI before kick-off. After the game, Curtin put his thoughts on Baribo’s position in the depth chart simply:
“But, again, going into a game, we wanted to start Julián, for sure. So someone was going out because we wanted to put our best guys against a good Seattle team. Unfortunately the decision goes against Tai. Right now, Chris (Donovan) is ahead of him, that’s the easiest I can answer it.”
With Union going though one of the worst slumps in club history, Chris Donovan continued to be picked over Baribo by Jim Curtin, and fans were starting to lose hop that he’d ever get to the point of making an impact for this Union team.
A strong ‘Tai’ raises all ships
Through all of that, Curtin remained confident that Tai Baribo would continue to be professional and work hard to get himself in a position to help the team, and that he has. After Julián Carranza’s move to Europe, and a starting striker position opening up, Tai Baribo has found new life here in Philadelphia.
The forward’s breakthrough came during a road meeting with FC Cincinnati in which he netted 2 goals in his first 90 minute performance for the club in a back-and-forth 4-3 loss.
Baribo’s performance against Cincinnati gave both him and Union fans some much needed confidence going into life without Carranza. The striker kept his form going, scoring his 3rd goal of the season against Toronto on July 13th, and netting a hat-trick against New England just 4 days later. He made it 7 goals in 8 games this past weekend as he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 Leagues Cup win against Charlotte FC, propelling Union to their 3rd consecutive win.
So how good has Baribo actually been?
Since scoring that brace against Cincinnati FC on June 19th, Tai Baribo has scored 7 goals in his previous 8 games in all competitions across a total of 701 minutes played, breaking down to 0.89 goals per 90 minutes during that stretch. In just MLS play, Baribo has 6 goals in 633 minutes, totaling 0.85 goals per 90 minutes, abd putting him tied for 3rd overall amongst MLS players (with over 90 minutes played this season) behind only Lionel Messi (1.04 goals per 90) and Tanitoluwa Oluwaseyi (.90 goals per 90).
When comparing Baribo to other forwards in Major League Soccer, he ranks in the top 95th percentile in goals per 90 (0.85), 91.3 percentile in expected goals per 90 (0.71), 91.3 percentile in expected goals on target (0.76), 81.3 percentile in pass accuracy per 90 (78.9%), 82.5 percentile in touches in opponents box per 90 (6.40), and 76.3 percentile in shots on target per 90 (1.42)
These stats show that not only does Baribo get in good goal-scoring positions, but he’s making himself available for the final pass and putting it away when getting an opportunity. When looking at the 6 goals he’s scored in MLS play, 5 of Baribo’s 6 goals have come from inside 12 yards out, with 3 of them coming inside the 6 yard box.
Of the 7 goals Baribo has scored in all comps this season, 6 of them have been with his first touch – the only goal that needed more than 1 was his hat-trick goal against New England, where he settled a strong cross into the box down with his first touch, and fired the ball into the back of the net with his second. Baribo has been very clinical with the chances he’s gotten, and is proving what he can do with reliable service.
Baribo provides more than Goals
When diving into Baribo’s stats, it’s not just his goal scoring ability that’s making me wonder why Jim Curtin waited so long to give him time on the field. Jim Curtin loves active, hardworking, aggressive forwards that pressure defenders into uncomfortable positions 90 minutes a game – it’s why he loved Julián Carranza and his league leading 95 fouls committed during the 2023 season, 19 more than the 2nd place player behind him.
And Baribo is showing signs of that during this stretch of good form as well. Amongst other forwards in MLS, Baribo currently ranks in the top 96.3 percentile in tackles won per 90 (1.42), 80th percentile in tackles won % per 90 (71.4%), 71.3 percentile in duels won percentage per 90 (45.7%), 77.5 percentile in interceptions 90 (0.43), and 77.5 percentile in recoveries per 90 (3.13).
It’s the hardwork off the ball the will keep Baribo in Curtin’s starting XI, so long as the goals continue to hit the back of the net. But even if the goals dry up a bit, Curtin’s system is set up for Union to benefit off his strikers pressuring the opponent’s defenders all game long and forcing them into mistakes. As long as Baribo can keep putting in maxium effort without the ball at his feet, he should continue to not only get minutes in the starting XI, but goal scoring opportunities with service from players like Kai Wagner, Quinn Sullivan, and Jack McGlynn – when he returns from the Olympics.
Baribo’s strong mentality
We could sit here all day long and try to decipher why exactly it took so long for Baribo to break into Jim Curtin’s team, and I think those that criticize that decision have a valid point. How on earth was a guy like Chris Donovan ever considered higher on the depth chart than Tai Baribo, a player Union spent over a Million Dollars on?
The short answer is practice. Players that dont train the way Curtin wants, often don’t get playing time – or considerable amounts, anyway. It’s something that’s earned in a Jim Curtin team, and maybe to a fault at times. But it also ensures that whoever is getting playing time is 100% bought in to his system and way of playing.
Whatever the real reason for Baribo’s delayed start here in Philadelphia, and we may not ever have all the pieces to the puzzle, Jim Curtin reiterated numerous times that he believed in Tai Baribo and his ability to fight his way into this team – and he’s done exactly that. 7 goals in his past 8 games, and turning out to be exactly what Union fans hoped he would be when he arrived last August. And for that, Tai Baribo must be given credit, to which Jim Curtin has provided.
“The job that Tai Baribo has done for us – and I’ll just say, situations where he could have demanded to be traded, demanded to get out of here – he continued to work hard and his work rate in tonight’s game, not just the goals, but work are defensively was incredible.”
Baribo’s Ceiling
When considering Tai Baribo’s ceiling, I still feel like it’s a little bit too early to tell if he’ll be Union’s long term solution up top that finally takes this team to Silverware. But the signs are there in that small sample size, and when a player finds confidence in their play and comfort in their daily routine, who knows what heights they could reach. What a turn of events the Tai Baribo saga has taken. Just 6 weeks after getting his first start of the season and the tune around him is drastically different. Maybe Baribo actually will turn out to be one of those “diamond in the rough” type signings for Ernst Tanner and the Philadelphia Union.
Mandatory Photo Credit: Philadelphia Union
