HANOVER, N.J. – If there’s one MLS player best equipped to foil the New York Red Bulls’ suffocating and successful pressing style, it’s Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe.
Pressure doesn’t seem to get to the 25-year-old US national team player, who seems to always find a way to slither out of sticky situations. When the Timbers visit the Red Bulls on Sunday night (6 pm ET on ESPN2 in USA and MLS LIVE in Canada), Nagbe's ability to serve as an outlet, draw fouls or quickly switch the point of attack could limit just how effective the Red Bulls can be with their strategy of compressing specific areas of the field.
“One of the things about Darlington that’s really amazing is that in the tightest of spaces, he finds a way to get out, whether that’s on the dribble or [with] a pass. We have to be aware that when we’re pressing and he gets the ball, that one guy may not be enough [to stop him],” Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch said on Friday.
“We need to compress the field with more [players] and make sure that we close down his options and try to limit him from trying to wiggle out of tight spots and hurting us.”
In many ways, as Nagbe goes, so go the Timbers. Such is his talent and sheer ability to stamp his will on the squad. It’s that talent which has quickly landed him on the US national team shortly after receiving US citizenship last September.
Nagbe is coming off two appearances with the USMNT during their fourth-place finish at the recently concluded Copa America and he's a player who appears primed over the coming months for a bigger role in Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad.
But when it comes to production — goals and assists — Nagbe’s sixth season in MLS has yet to take off. He has just one goal and three assists in 12 appearances for a Timbers squad that is currently on the outside of the playoff field in the Western Conference.
That doesn’t make him any less dangerous, with Red Bulls midfielder Mike Grella labeling the Timbers midfielder a “fantastic player.” Grella’s head coach agrees.
“I think he’s just a fun player to watch because he’s so clever, so sharp on the ball,” Marsch said. “His ability to wrong-foot defenders and set up a pass or a final play is quite good. I know there’s been a lot of people calling for more of him in the national team; I can see why. He’s a good player.”
