The midfielder says that life with the national team isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and that he values time off now he’s been out of the setup <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Former U.S. men’s national team midfielder Darlington Nagbe says that staying home with his family is worth more than representing his country, even at the World Cup.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The midfielder, who moved from Atlanta United to the Columbus Crew this offseason, has played 25 times for the U.S., most recently in 2018, scoring once.<\/p>\n
Still only 29, and having impressed in the midfield in a couple of dominant seasons in Atlanta, Nagbe was asked if he\u2019d consider a return to the national team setup. He said he valued the time with family international breaks afforded him, and that he never thought of playing for his country.<\/p>\n \n More teams<\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI get to do this for a living, I like what I do for a living, I get to be home a lot,\u201d he said on BSI: The Podcast \u201cI think the national team kind of took away from me being home a lot of\u00a0those breaks that we would get.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe only time I think about it is when people ask me about it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know those games, man.\u00a0It\u2019s fun when you put on the jersey and the whole country is cheering for you. It\u2019s definitely different, it\u2019s definitely special, but at the same time, I try to look at it like if I went to the World Cup, how would it affect me?\u00a0<\/p>\n “Would I come back and be like, \u2018I went to the World Cup?\u2019 Is it worth missing time with my family? If not, then why would I do it?\u201d<\/p>\n Nagbe, a veteran of 292 MLS appearances in a career that started with the Portland Timbers in 2011, said that life with the national team wasn\u2019t all glamour, as some may think.<\/p>\n He said that on some away trips he and his teammates didn\u2019t even have reliable drinking water, having to use bottled water to brush their teeth.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d see guys get some time off and things like that, then we\u2019re travelling to St. Vincent\u2019s to go play on a cricket field and stuff like that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s just a grind. I feel like where you travel to play makes a big difference \u2013 drinking out of water bottles, brushing your teeth with that. People don\u2019t really see that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n