ATLANTA — Tyler Adams was at his parents house on Sunday afternoon when he learned he’d be playing in the 2018 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target — in just three days’ time.
“My sporting director, Denis [Hamlett] called me and said, ‘Congrats, All-Star.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’” Adams told reporters following a training session on Tuesday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “He basically told me I had been, you know, I'm going to the All-Star Game now, so I had to catch a flight the next morning, which was interesting."
“It was all a bit of a whirlwind, a lot of emotions obviously, but it's really cool to be recognized.”
Both Adams and Minnesota United FC’s Darwin Quintero were invited to replace two last-minute roster scratches: New York City FC'sDavid Villa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic of the LA Galaxy.
The 19-year-old New York Red Bulls midfielder will be making his first MLS All-Star appearance, and Adams said he’s glad to have the opportunity to learn from both his more veteran MLS teammates and the visiting players from Juventus in Italy's Serie A.
“It’s nice to come here, in a great environment, with some great players, and be able to step on the same field as them, watch some of the things that they do, how they train,” he said.
Though Adams featured in the 2016 and 2017 MLS Homegrown Games, this will be his first MLS All-Star appearance. He’ll be joined on Wednesday night by fellow Red Bulls Bradley Wright-Phillips, now a two-time MLS All-Star, as well as fellow All-Star newbies Michael Amir Murillo and Aaron Long.
“It's pretty cool to have four of us represented from the Red Bulls,” said Adams. “It's just fun to be able to step out of the same pitch as them and be recognized.”
Rumors have been swirling in recent months that Adams might soon transfer to Germany’s RB Leipzig to join former Red Bulls manager Jesse Marsch, who took an assistant manager position with the Bundesliga club in early July.
Adams was tight-lipped when asked about the status of a possible transfer.
“No, there’s nothing there right now,” he said. “I’m just focused on what I'm doing here.”
