PACHUCA. - Darlington Nagbe has made plenty of history by helping the Columbus Crew to two MLS Cup championships in five seasons, but he can take his home state club into rarefied territory by winning the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Final on Saturday against CF Pachuca at Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico.

“It'd be huge, not just for Columbus, and the city, and the club, but for MLS,” Nagbe said in an interview with Concacaf.com. “We take pride in representing Columbus. But of course, you want to take pride in representing the league as well, and showing what MLS is capable of.”

“Getting the Crew’s name on the world stage would be amazing,” he added.

The winner of the final will qualify for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will be hosted in the United States. CF Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, and Club Leon are the other Concacaf clubs that have already secured participation in the expanded 32-team competition.

In the immediate term, Columbus looks to join a short list of MLS representatives who have won the Concacaf Champions Cup. D.C. United (1998), LA Galaxy (2000), and Seattle Sounders (2022) are the only U.S.-based teams to have won the tournament.

“I think we've always believed in ourselves,” Nagbe said. “I think that comes down from the coaching staff and the club as well. I think every competition we go in, we're trying to win.”

“I don't know if there was exactly a specific moment where we thought, ‘Now we can make it to the final,” he continued. “We just played every game to compete and to win. Just the confidence from last year and this year, how we've been performing, I think that really gave us the boost to feel like we could get to the point that we're at now.”

Columbus won the MLS Cup last December in a 2-1 home victory over Los Angeles FC, who finished as runners-up in the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup. Since then, the club has built on its success, rising to number one in the Concacaf Club Ranking Index thanks to wins over Tigres UANL and CF Monterrey.

 

“That made me feel that we're the team that we know we can be,” Nagbe said. “Going down one, zero against Tigres [at the Universitario] and then, going down against Monterrey in Monterrey as well. I think the resilience that we showed, being able to come back, and win those games, and put in the performance that we put in there just shows a lot about the group and the character.”

Nagbe was a critical midfield player who helped the team leave with no more than one goal conceded as the Crew fought back from early deficits in its two previous trips to Mexico. The Tigres quarterfinal needed to be decided by a penalty shootout, but the club made history by advancing to its first semifinal appearance. The team will play its first final with one more result separating it from lifting its second major trophy under head coach Wilfried Nancy.

Nagbe will captain the Crew for another tough road trip in Mexico. Pachuca, a five-time Champions Cup winner, has won every final it has played in and has never lost in 30 CCC home encounters.

A sold-out crowd awaits on Saturday at the Hidalgo. At 33, Nagbe relishes what’s at stake and more with local ties to the club he suits up for.

“To be able to wear the band and represent the team, the city, and the club, it’s huge,” Nagbe said of the opportunity to captain the team in the final. “Growing up in Ohio, being able to play for the Crew, the championship that we won here, the two that we've won now, kind of a world stage, to be able to go out and represent the city, the club, the teammates and the team is special to me, and hopefully we get it done.”