Nazmi Albadawi scores twice against former club in FC Cincinnati's 4-1 win over NCFC

Few nights in Nazmi Albadawi's playing career will be as sentimental as Saturday night at Nippert Stadium, where the midfielder's past and his present collided, and the present seemed to sparkle. 

The match paired his old club – North Carolina FC – against his new one – Futbol Club Cincinnati. But it was deeper than that.

The game was between his hometown team, where he grew up going to games as a kid and eventually became the team's star player, versus his new home, where he's struggled with injuries and playing time in what could be considered a frustrating fresh start. 

But then there was Saturday, where Albadawi made his fourth United Soccer League start for FC Cincinnati and produced his defining 90 minutes at the club so far. 

Receiving the ball in the 11th minute from Emmanuel Ledesma, Albadawi took a a touch and with his second unleashed a 25-yard shot that knuckled into the top right corner. Standing before The Bailey, which unveiled plumes of smoke, the midfielder raised both arms and bowed his head, refusing to celebrate against his old team. 

Later in the 45th minute, Ledesma played Albadawi into space again, and once more, he smashed the ball to the back post with his left foot. Again, he didn't celebrate. 

"I was happy I scored, obviously," he said. "I kinda wanted to celebrate. But out of respect to North Carolina, I decided not to."

Both goals were beautiful masterpieces that would each be considered one of the better goals an FC Cincinnati player will score this season. But for Albadawi to produce both in the same half against his old team, it was a performance that might’ve been dreamt, but not necessarily expected, which made it all the more emotional.

“Sometimes when you work in this business, the romance gets taken out of the game,” head coach Alan Koch said after the match. “The game is such a special thing. We all love it so much, and when you work in it, sometimes it becomes very, very black and white.”

Albadawi’s night was colorful.

Along with his teammates, FC Cincinnati produced its finest performance of the season, at least at Nippert Stadium, where they continuously battered a North Carolina side that looked rattled and bewildered.

Albadawi played at the top of a diamond midfield of he, Corben Bone, Kenney Walker and Richie Ryan. Above him were Ledesma and Danni Konig as forwards. Whether North Carolina was confused with Cincinnati’s attack or simply overpowered, the home side sliced through the visitors with pass after pass. Albadawi invaded pockets of open space, while the other midfielders got forward and the fullbacks sprinted down the flanks.

It was the kind of attacking FC Cincinnati is capable of, and Albadawi was in the heart of it.  

“We imposed ourselves on the game and on the opposition very, very well from the start,” Koch said.

For Albadawi, it's still early, however. Saturday was his fifth appearance for Cincinnati across all competitions. He had 110 appearances in four seasons for North Carolina.

Last season he was dubbed “possibly the best American talent in the U.S. lower divisions” by soccer outlet FourFourTwo. He was also in the North American Soccer League Best XI the past two seasons. When Cincinnati signed him in January, it was a significant acquisition that showed the ambition of the club now sitting atop the USL Eastern Conference.  

For a team that’s lacked consistent play from center attacking midfielders in the past two seasons, it’s found consistency in Bone and Albadawi.

If Saturday was about playing against his past, Albadawi showed glimpses of his future.

The kid who went to “every single game” North Carolina played – then called the Carolina Railhawks – when he was 13 years old is now a 26-year-old promising talent who could flourish inside FC Cincinnati’s attacking system. It’s an exciting prospect, even if so much of Saturday was spent on recalling the past.

“Playing against North Carolina, for me, was special,” he said. “It’s my hometown club, the club I grew up cheering for and a very special place in my heart.

“I’m happy we beat them. I want to beat them every time we play them, of course. I wish them nothing but the best in their other games. But for us, it was a great win tonight.”

Albadawi was born in Raleigh and played college soccer for North Carolina State there, too. The city skyline is his Twitter background photo. His former club, which plays just outside Raleigh in Cary, will always be with him as well.

But as North Carolina FC briefly tumbles to second-worst in the USL Eastern Conference, FC Cincinnati climbed to first. Sentimentalism aside, Albadawi left one of the weaker clubs and has become one of the better players at one of the best teams.

“As a player, when you get to play against your old team and a team that’s given Naz so much and Naz gave them so much, and then you get to go do what he did tonight, it's incredibly special,” Koch said. “He should be incredibly proud.”