Darlington Nagbe

Darlington Nagbe

Nagbe lining up for the Portland Timbers in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth	(1990-07-19) July 19, 1990 (age 26)
Place of birth	Monrovia, Liberia
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Portland Timbers
Number	6
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2010	Akron Zips	73	(19)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2010	Cleveland Internationals	18	(7)
2011–	Portland Timbers	195	(26)
National team‡
2015–	United States	14	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 1, 2017. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 28, 2017

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.

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 footballer, 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.

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.