Major League Soccer today announced that legendary players and culture creators will comprise the pair of celebrity guest coaches tapped to lead each side in the 2021 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G on Aug. 24 in Los Angeles. Social media sensation Noah Beck – among TikTok’s top 10 breakout creators of 2020 – will join U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer, eight-time MLS All-Star player, and FOX Soccer analyst Cobi Jones to fire up the MLS players, while former Mexican National Team goalkeeper Jorge Campos and Mexican content creator Juanpa Zurita will lead the LIGA MX All-Stars. As LA Galaxy teammates, Jones and Campos have contributed to making MLS club history together. However, opposing national team ties have fueled their own friendly rivalry history as well.
Coaching up the eight MLS All-Stars in the skills challenge event will be Noah Beck, who has risen to social media stardom, amassing nearly 45 million combined followers, including on the popular video-sharing platform TikTok. As one of the world’s top social media creators, Beck has a unique soccer pedigree as a former midfielder for the University of Portland, a player for the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program, and a starter for the Real Salt Lake Academy.
Also leading the MLS side will be Cobi Jones, a National Soccer Hall of Famer, who starred in eight MLS All-Star Games between 1996 and 2002 and in 2007. The long-time LA Galaxy analyst and an Angel City FC owner (NWSL), Jones won two MLS Cups – the league’s championship match – and two Supporters’ Shields, annually awarded to the team finishing with the best regular season record. On the international stage, Jones holds the record for most appearances for the U.S. Men’s National Team (164), and has played in three World Cups, two Concacaf Gold Cups, one Copa America, and the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
On the LIGA MX side, another content star will be on the sidelines in Juanpa Zurita. The 25-year-old native of Mexico City rose to prominence in 2013 through his captivating comedy videos on the video platform Vine. Juanpa’s community has since grown to reach over 26 million Instagram followers, 10.5 million YouTube subscribers, and over 11 million TikTok followers. He was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018’s Hollywood & Entertainment category.
Also at the helm for LIGA MX will be Legendary Pumas and El Tri goalkeeper Jorge Campos, who redefined the goalkeeper position by fielding a unique flair and energy between the posts. For club, Campos claimed a CONCACAF Champions’ Cup and Mexican Primera División titles with Pumas and Cruz Azul before winning an MLS Cup and Lamar Hunt Open Cup in 1998 with the Chicago Fire. For country, Campos won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1999 and Concacaf Gold Cup twice, in 1993 and 1996.
The 2021 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G will showcase Carlos Vela (Los Angeles Football Club) and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández (LA Galaxy) among the eight players representing the MLS All-Stars, as they face off against Rubens Sambueza (Deportivo Toluca F.C), Rogelio Funes Mori (C.F. Monterrey), and Jonathan Rodríguez (Cruz Azul) among the eight players representing the best of the best from LIGA MX. These two sides will compete in five head-to-head competitions, including the Shooting Challenge presented by AT&T 5G, the Touch Challenge presented by Old Spice, the Cross & Volley Challenge presented by AT&T 5G, the Passing Challenge presented by Crest and the Crossbar Challenge presented by Gillette.
