Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe and his time with the U.S. Men’s National Team continued this week at the 2016 Copa America Centenario as the USMNT beat Ecuador 2-1 last Thursday in the tournament quarterfinal. Next up: Argentina in the tournament semifinals tonight in Houston (6pm PT, FS1, MATCHCENTER).
Nagbe has been busy with the squad but has also found time to watch his Timbers from afar as they played this last weekend, cheer on his beloved Cleveland Cavaliers with some of his USMNT teammates and get ready for tonight’s important game.
Read parts one and two of the series to get caught up on Nagbe's activities throughout the tournament.
Brian Costello:
Let’s start with the quarterfinal game against Ecuador. What does that win mean for you and the team?
Darlington Nagbe:
“Oh, it was huge, you know, against a quality opponent like Ecuador which we had played and then we’ve beaten twice now. To come out there and get a good performance and win that game and move on to the semifinals of the Copa America has been huge. Obviously I’m excited about it. The whole team is excited about it. And hopefully everyone else is proud of us.”
BC:
What was it like for you watching the game? You go up 2-0, with the goals from Clint Dempsey and Gyasi Zardes. Ecuador pulls one back in the second half. What did it feel like for you as that game progressed?
DN:
“Oh, it was nerve wracking. When you’re watching the match you’re paying attention to everything, you’re seeing our chances we had and their chances that they had. And you’re seeing all the emotions going on through the game, but yeah, definitely nerve-wracking and trying to support the team as best I could.”
BC:
Now I know we talked last week about the Cleveland Cavaliers, and we’ll get to their championship in a second, but I know last Thursday was both your game against Ecuador and their Game Six against the Golden State Warriors. You had said you were trying to figure out if you were going to skip seeing their result after your own game. Did you hear about it in the locker room or did you get a chance to watch it?
DN:
“Yeah. I ended up hearing about it in the locker room. Thankfully it was good news, but I still lost it when I came back here to the hotel.”
BC:
Then last Saturday the Timbers played against Real Salt Lake and drew 2-2. Did you and your now USMNT teammate/RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman kind of keep your distance that day?
DN:
(Laughs.) I don’t know where he was, but we were texting a little bit about the game. Just the result and things like that. So it was fun.
BC:
Is it kind of odd when those games come up when you’re away with the national team, and you have teammates on the national team that are then otherwise rivals with your club team?
DN:
“Yeah. That’s one thing that I’m going to get used to. Because we’re used to playing against these guys all the time, but you don’t know them personally. And then you get to know them personally and see that they’re great people and nice people, and you’re rivals at the same time. So that’s a bit strange. But that’s the main thing for me, is I just hate missing games with my club team, so that’s been a little bit different. But I’m happy to be here and be in the semifinals with the Copa.”
BC:
Is it kind of an interesting thing how quickly you as a national team squad need to come together to have a cohesive team? Because unlike the club team where you’re together all the time, here it’s a more compressed period. How do you think the team does that?
DN:
“I think the team is doing a good job with that, and that plays with a huge part of the coaching staff making sure that the group is together and that the veterans that are here to make sure that the group is a tight-knit group. And I feel there’s been a great job of that—on and off the field. The atmosphere has been great, the morale has been great – obviously with us moving on. So it’s actually tough but a good group of guys here and good players, so it’s been fun.”
BC:
So Sunday had to have been fun with the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Finals. I saw you posted a picture with forward Christian Pulisic, goalkeeper Ethan Horvath and yourself all in Cavs gear. I mean, Pulisic’s from Pennsylvania. Horvath’s from Colorado. Were they Cavs fans that you recruited?
DN:
“I’m not sure where they got their Cavs stuff from, (laughs) but I knew they were huge LeBron James fans. I don’t know… It wasn’t a Cleveland thing. I think they’re just huge LeBron James fans, so we’ve been discussing The Finals the whole time and [Sunday] we were pretty excited about it.”
BC:
You were happy to pull them into the fold.
DN:
“Oh yeah. They came into my room after they won and we were all just kind of pumped and celebrating. So it was cool.”
BC:
You grew up in Cleveland and you also know the feeling of what it’s like to bring a championship to a city that you live in, in Portland. What do you think the Cavaliers victory means to Cleveland, it having been a part of you for so long?
DN:
“It was huge. I mean, [for Cleveland, it’s been] so long. Sports is a great thing. I’m a fan of sports and athletes. So I never really knew how important it meant to the Portland fans—us winning the championship—until the Cavaliers won the championship, because of how long they’d been waiting for a championship and I’d been waiting for the Cavaliers or any team in sports there to win a championship. So it made me just think about Portland, when we won the championship, and how great it felt for our fans, and how important it must have felt to them just to bring a championship back home – even though they didn’t have to wait as long as the Cavaliers fans did, I think.”
BC:
It’s kind of a switch for you from being an athlete to also being a fan.
DN:
“Oh yeah. Which is a great thing about sports. I love that. We just met [Houston Texans defensive end] J.J. Watt the other day, and he was saying how it’s an honor to meet us but we’re all looking at him like, ‘He’s J.J. Watt.’ But he was just kind of envious, saying no matter how great he felt or how well he played, that he’ll never get to represent the United States in football. I had never thought about that. Everyone is a fan of everyone. That’s the cool thing about sports.”
BC:
Next up: Argentina: Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero…Big team obviously. What’s the feeling in your camp heading into this match?
DN:
“That just have to belief in ourselves, continue doing what we’ve been doing, which is working for each other, playing hard, contesting everything, and that’s worked out for us so far. And playing against Argentina, obviously probably the best team in the tournament, the best opponent that we’re going to face. So if we can continue to do what we’re doing and turn it up a little bit more, then I think we’ll be fine.”
