If Atlanta United is to defeat Columbus on Tuesday and keep any chance of advancing in the MLS tournament it’s going to need to break the metaphorical rock that is Darlington Nagbe.
“He’s like the cement between the stones,” Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer said, who earlier in an interview on Sunday said Nagbe was one of the best midfielders in MLS.
De Boer would know. Nagbe played for Atlanta United in 2018 and 2019, helping the club win the MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup and Campeones Cup.
But Nagbe, who grew up in Ohio, wanted to return closer to home so Atlanta United traded him to Columbus between the 2019 and 2020 seasons for more than $1 million in types of Allocation Money.
“We are going to miss him, that’s for sure,” de Boer said.
Nagbe has done for Columbus, which won its first two games in the tournament by a combined 6-0 score, what he did for Atlanta United and Portland before that: win the ball, keep the ball despite an opponent’s desperate attempts to take it away, and keep teammates involved with successful passes. Nagbe had one unsuccessful pass in Thursday’s 2-0 win against New York Red Bulls. One.
“He’s comfortable on the ball, he’s comfortable in small spaces, he’s comfortable when someone presses, he knows which way to turn,” de Boer said. “Not many players in this league and Europe have that.”
As de Boer said, Nagbe doesn’t score many goals (29 in 274 appearances) but what he does is invaluable. De Boer compared him to Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets in that way.
“Nagbe is a great player and we all know that,” Atlanta United midfielder Mo Adams said. “No shame in saying that.”
To try to limit Nagbe’s influence, Adams said Atlanta United must show him respect by not showing him respect. They need to try different tactics to keep him from becoming comfortable. Should Atlanta United press Nagbe with multiple players when he has the ball, he can look like a dancer with his ability to spin away and suddenly be in a space with no opposing player within several yards and an opponent at a numerical disadvantage.
“We will try to make it as difficult as possible for him,” de Boer said.
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