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COLUMBUS — The 2020 and 2023 MLS Cups both ended with the Columbus Crew concluding their campaign as league champions, but Saturday’s most recent edition allowed one of the league’s well-known midfield pairs to savor the triumph together.
Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris were key in the Crew’s 2-1 triumph over defending champions LAFC at Lower.com Field. Morris logged 90 minutes in the heart of Wilfried Nancy’s midfield while Nagbe played 84 minutes before being replaced by Sean Zawadzki for the final period of Saturday’s third-ever MLS Cup triumph for the Eastern Conference club.
The pair might be 11 years apart in terms of age, but they have grown into one of MLS’ reliable pair of midfielders, which was crucial for the Crew in 2023.
“Since his first full season, he’s been tremendous and has a lot of confidence,” said Nagbe about Morris postmatch to reporters. “He’s the heartbeat of our team, in my opinion. He pushes me and I push him..it’s an honor to play with him.”
“For me, every word that comes out of this guy’s mouth, it’s just special to me,” Morris said about Nagbe, who gave the Crew team a pre-match speech ahead of Saturday’s match. “I’ve been listening to this guy for three-to-four years now, and am just trying to execute what he says. This isn’t his only good speech this year, every single day he shows up and is nothing but positive and leads us in the right direction.”
This wasn’t the first MLS Cup titles for either Nagbe or Morris in their careers to date.
Nagbe, a long-time MLS veteran, was unable to be part of the Crew’s title win in 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19 ahead of the club’s eventual 3-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders. The Ohio native has remained one of the best at his position in MLS, lifting the league title on Saturday for the fourth time in 13 seasons.
Morris, who was in his rookie season in 2020, delivered a Man of the Match showing against the Sounders and has since continued to grow as a key player for the Crew. Although he wasn’t able to partner Nagbe at Historic Crew Stadium back in December 2020, Morris was able to finally enjoy a league title lift with Nagbe as the Crew capped off a stellar first season under Wilfried Nancy.
“Yeah, we talked about it the whole year,” Morris said about the chance of playing for MLS Cup alongside Nagbe. “Obviously, with humility, but we knew we were going to do something good this year. Just every day, I show up to training and there’s something I learned from watching him.
“He’s such a great role model and it’s special that I could share such an amazing experience with him,” Morris said. “I know it means so much to him and also to be able to step up this year and be a captain and be a leader. I’m really happy for him and so beyond blessed that I could share this moment with him.”
Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos
The Crew dictated most of the tempo during Saturday’s MLS Cup triumph against LAFC. They used a pair of first-half goals from Cucho Hernandez and Yaw Yeboah in a four-minute span to lead 2-0 heading into halftime.
Although LAFC got themselves back into the match through Denis Bouanga’s rebound finish, the Crew never looked worried in the final minutes, eventually hanging on for a monumental win.
Both Nagbe and Morris were vital in the Crew’s triumph, something that has been a theme throughout the entirety of 2023. Now the team will rest and regroup ahead of a busy 2024, which will feature a return to the revamped CONCACAF Champions Cup, as well as an MLS Cup title defense.
“He’s just brings competitive spirit,” Nancy said about Morris. “He is one of the best. He likes to compete with himself. He’s confident and he’s humble at the same time. He always tries to be a better version of himself. He is so good. He is able to move, to look forward, and to be honest, we rarely talk about the defensive aspect because naturally he has that.”
“Darlington is Darlington,” Nancy said about Nagbe. “Like I’ve said before, he is amazing, he’s 32-years-old. He was composed with the ball and made the right decisions. He was spot on, but also this is about the savviness we have as a team. We went through a lot of lack of savviness during the year, but Darlington and everyone were able to learn from that and that’s why we had a really good game.”
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