Introduction
Darlington Nagbe (born July 19, 1990) is an American soccer player who plays for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer and the United States men's national soccer team as a midfielder.
Early years
Nagbe was born in Liberia but left the country as a five-month-old when his mother fled the country due to the First Liberian Civil War, taking him and his brother with her. They then joined her husband Joe Nagbe, a professional soccer player, and his career took the family to France, Greece and Switzerland before they eventually settled in the Cleveland area in 2001 when Darlington was 11 years old.
Nagbe grew up in Lakewood, Ohio, where he attended Lakewood High School and then St. Edward High School, scoring 18 goals and adding 10 assists as a senior. He was a member of the Region II ODP team, was a 2007 adidas ESP All-Star and was member of the Ohio North ODP team, as well as winning four Ohio state club titles with the Cleveland Internationals. Nagbe also participated in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy with the Internationals.
College and amateur career
Nagbe played college soccer at the University of Akron, scoring 19 goals and contributing 19 assists in 73 matches during three collegiate seasons. He was a Soccer America All-Freshman first team honoree, and was named the All-MAC Newcomer of the Year in as a freshman in 2008. As a sophomore in 2009 Nagbe was named to the NSCAA All-America Second Team, the Soccer America MVP Second Team, the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Season Second Team, the All-Great Lakes Region First Team and the All-Mid-American Conference First Team. In 2010 Nagbe helped the Akron Zips to their first ever national championship, a 1–0 regulation win in the College Cup Final against Louisville; he was subsequently named to the NSCAA All-America First Team, the All-MAC First Team, the College Cup All-Tournament Team, and was honored with the MAC Hermann Trophy as the 2010 College Soccer Player of the Year. His coach at Akron was Caleb Porter, who played four games for San Jose in 1999 and is currently his head coach with the Portland Timbers.
During his college years Nagbe also played four seasons with the Cleveland Internationals in the USL Premier Development League, scoring 7 goals in 18 league appearances.
Club career
Portland Timbers
Nagbe was selected by Portland Timbers in the first round (2nd overall) of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. After missing the first couple of weeks of the season due to injury, Nagbe made his professional debut on April 2, 2011 in a 1–1 tie with New England Revolution. Nagbe scored his first goal with a brilliant volley (which was eventually named the 2011 MLS goal of the year) in a 2–1 loss to Sporting Kansas City on July 2, 2011. He found the net twice with two excellent shots on March 31, 2012, though they weren't enough to keep the Timbers from going down, 2–3, to a resurgent Real Salt Lake.
Nagbe was injured after a hard tackle on April 11, 2016, during a MLS soccer game between the LA Galaxy and the Portland Timbers. Nigel de Jong, LA Galaxy midfielder and Netherlands international player rolled over the ball straight toward Nagbe's ankle. Nagbe was stretchered off the field by medics and left the stadium in a wheelchair. However, the injury turned out to be a sprained ankle and he missed just two matches before returning to action. De Jong, who received a yellow card for the tackle during the match, was later suspended for three matches.
In July 2016, he was included in the roster for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game.
International
On November 6, 2015, Nagbe was named to the United States National Team roster for a pair of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Nagbe made his international debut on November 13, 2015, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute.
Nagbe scored his first goal for the U.S. National Team on May 25, 2016 in the 90th minute to secure a 1–0 victory in a friendly match against Ecuador.
Personal
Nagbe is the son of Somah Nagbe and Joe Nagbe, the former captain of the Liberian national team. He has two younger sisters, Martha and Seta, and one older brother, Joe Jr. In 2012, he married Felicia Houtz and the couple have a daughter named Mila and a son named Kingston.
Nagbe received his U.S. green card in 2012, thus making him a domestic player for MLS roster purposes. Nagbe became a U.S. citizen in September 2015.
Career statistics
Club
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| USA | League | Open Cup | League Cup | North America | Total | |||||||
| 2007 | Cleveland Internationals | USL PDL | 8 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 2 |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009 | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 5 | ||
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 0 | ||
| Cleveland total | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | ||
| 2011 | Portland Timbers | MLS | 28 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | 2 |
| 2012 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 34 | 6 | ||
| 2013 | 34 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 42 | 11 | ||
| 2014 | 32 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2015 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 40 | 5 | ||
| 2016 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 1 | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2017 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 2 | ||
| Portland total | 197 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 219 | 29 | ||
| Total | USA | 215 | 33 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 237 | 36 | |
| Career total | 215 | 33 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 237 | 36 | ||
International goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 25, 2016 | Toyota Stadium, Frisco, United States |  Ecuador |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honors
Club
- NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship (1): 2010
- MLS Cup (1): 2015
Individual
- Hermann Trophy Winner: 2010
- MLS Goal of the Year Award: 2011
- MLS Fair Play Award (2): 2013, 2015
- MLS All-Star: 2016