Edited by Alex Smith
Take a look at the top scorers’ chart for the Austrian Bundesliga and there’s a familiar scene playing out.
It’s filled with players from foreign countries dominating the scoring statistics. One of the names towards the top might be a little more surprising, scoring time after time and making the league look easy. No, it’s not another Red Bull Salzburg player, it’s Tai Baribo, the next Israeli player making a name for himself in Austria.
The Young Southern Star
Baribo was born in Eilat, at the southernmost tip of Israel. As a child he played for Hapoel Rishon Letzion, far away from his hometown, having to take flights to training sessions. It was tough in the beginning, not just because of the distance, but because he also had to deal with the death of his mother, who passed away when he was 11 years old.
He left home whilst still a teenager, joining Maccabi Petah Tikva at the age of 16. His new home was with a youth team that has, in recent years, produced some of Israel's hot prospects, including Manor Solomon of Shakhtar Donetsk, and Celtic's Liel Abada.
"It was my first season as the U19 head coach," says Ori Uzan, Baribo's former manager, "I was introduced to the team, and Baribo was one of those that was already marked as a hot prospect."
According to Uzan, even with this title, he wasn't the biggest star of the team. "He played alongside Manor Solomon. Solomon is like a diamond that shines all over, and you can't miss it. Baribo is a hard-working player, one who marks targets, a kid that leaves his home at an early age is someone that focuses on achieving these targets."
Baribo started working his way towards the senior team, but just like many of his teammates, his major progress was in the 2019/20 season. After Solomon left for Ukraine in the winter of 2019, Maccabi Petah Tikva dropped dramatically and were relegated. In the following season, Baribo, playing alongside a group of youngsters, took the chance to rebuild the team, and earned an easy promotion.
After just one more season at the club, last summer he signed for Wolfsberger, his first club abroad. The 23 year old has impressed in his time in Austria, already scoring six goals in 15 league matches, but he’s not the only Israeli to shine here.
The name is Shon, Shon Weissman ⚽🔥🇮🇱
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) July 12, 2020
The striker who was a nobody in his home country, but rose to the top of the Austrian Bundesliga in one season. https://t.co/vSOeOI2voZ
The Israeli-Austrian Connection
The first was Munas Dabbur, who moved from Grasshoppers to Red Bull Salzburg in 2016. After a shaky start to his time in the country, Dabbur was the league’s top scorer for two years in a row. Becoming a target for scouts across Europe, he eventually moved to La Liga, and Sevilla.
Shon Weissman replaced him as the Austrian Bundesliga’s Israeli attacking contingent, signing for Wolfsberger in 2019. In his first season, he took the league’s top scorer award too, scoring 30 goals, six ahead of runner-up Patson Daka.
It’s not just Israeli strikers who seem to progress well in Austria. Dor Hugi, a winger signed by St. Polten last year, finished the season with eight goals and eight assists, later signing for Wisla Krakow. Baribo's teammate, Eliel Peretz, missed most of the previous season, but has scored four and assisted three so far this term.
The biggest upset amongst the Israelis is that none of these players were top scorers before leaving the country. Some, for example, were key players in their youth teams, but failed to leave a special mark.
Wer hat das Tor der 10. Runde erzielt?
— Sky Sport Austria (@SkySportAustria) October 6, 2021
Zur Auswahl stehen die Treffer von Tai Baribo (@WolfsbergerAC), Matija Horvat (@tsv_hartberg), Nicolas Capaldo (@RedBullSalzburg) und Thanos Petsos (@WSGTIROL)! #SkyBuliAT
Zum VOTING: https://t.co/MOYqYP9YRY pic.twitter.com/dQkB0gCdGZ
"I think that the Austrian Bundesliga understands its place, unlike the Israeli league," says Uzan, "teams are focused on attack, and players need to show their numbers to be sold on to their next club, therefore you can see teams like Wolfsberger with an average of more than three goals per match. In Israel, managers are scared for their position, so they prefer to have a 0-0 draw than to play in the same way."
The legacy of former Israeli players is taking part in the decisions too, “teams are considering that the typecast of the Israeli striker is working well here, so maybe we will bring in another Weissman or Dabbur," added Uzan. He relates it not only to Israeli football, but specifically to Maccabi Petah Tikva, saying it’s “became a brand, like Dinamo Zagreb, that sells every single player because they are considered a good academy. After Solomon, Abada, and Baribo, they could easily sell the next talent."
Following a great start to the season, Baribo will face one of his team’s biggest challenges. After beating Sturm Graz 3-0 in a decisive match, their next game is at home to Rapid Wien. The match could be crucial for Wolfsberger if they are aiming for a spot in the Europa League this season, and Tai Baribo would like, once again, to be the player that leads the line.
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