Full name: Michael Sheehan Bradley
Date of birth: July 31, 1987 (age 24)
Place of birth: Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Height: 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position: Central midfielder
Michael Bradley (born July 31, 1987) is an American soccer player who currently plays as a central midfielder for Chievo Verona in the top Italian league Serie A as well as the United States national team, which was formerly coached by his father Bob Bradley.
Early life
Bradley was born in Princeton, New Jersey, son to Bob Bradley, then coach of the Princeton University soccer team and former head coach of the United States men's national soccer team. While his father was the coach at Princeton, the family lived in Pennington, New Jersey.[2]
Michael spent his teenage years in Palatine, Illinois, while his father coached the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer, and he grew up playing for Sockers FC, who went to the 2002 National Championship and finished third. He later attended the United States Under 17 Mens National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida — the dedicated facility for the training of the Under-17 national team — for four semesters, from the Autumn 2002 to Spring 2004.
Professional career
Metrostars
Before leaving Bradenton, Bradley signed a Project-40 contract with MLS, turning professional at the age of sixteen, and entered the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, where he was selected thirty-sixth overall by the MetroStars, who at the time were coached by his father. Bradley did not see any playing time in his rookie season, missing out with a foot injury, but went on to gain a starting spot in 2005, playing thirty out of thirty-two matches for the Metros. Just weeks after his father was fired as the club's coach, he headed in his first professional goal in a dramatic victory over Chivas USA on the last day of the 2005 season, sending the team to the playoffs.
SC Heerenveen
In January 2006, Bradley became the youngest MLS player to ever be sold when he was transferred to SC Heerenveen for an amount which remains undisclosed. His first start for the Frisian club came on April 16, 2006, in a match against AZ Alkmaar. He found success early, earning four starts and helping the club to a coveted UEFA Cup spot in his first half-season. Upon the retirement of Paul Bosvelt after the 2006–07 season, Bradley took the veteran's starting place in central midfield. Bradley scored sixteen Eredivisie goals and twenty in all competitions during the 2007–08 season.
In January 2008, Bradley broke the record for the most goals scored in a single season by an American-born soccer player playing in a European first division, which was previously held by Brian McBride with his thirteen goals for Fulham in the Premier League. On January 26, 2008, Bradley extended his record to 18, with 16 league goals
Borussia Mönchengladbach
On August 31, 2008, Bradley signed a four-year deal with Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach for an undisclosed fee. It was later revealed that Bradley had agreed to a switch to English club Birmingham City on the condition that the club retained its Premier League status. However, they did not and he made his Gladbach debut on September 20 in a loss against Hertha Berlin. On November 15, 2008, Bradley scored his first goal for Mönchengladbach against Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich with an eighty-first minute equalizing header. The game ended 2–2.
Early in the 2009–10 season, Bradley was briefly suspended after a small argument with manager Michael Frontzeck over playing time. However, the two later reconciled and Bradley re-established himself as a starter with the club before assisting a goal against Bayern Munich with a one-touch volley pass, and scoring the winning goal on a low free kick against Hannover 96. On January 30, 2011, Aston Villa of the Premier League confirmed via their official website that they were in talks to sign Bradley on a loan deal until the end of the 2010–11 season.
Aston Villa
Bradley completed the loan deal to Aston Villa on January 31, 2011. Bradley was paraded in front of the fans at Villa Park on February 5 before kick off of the Premier League match versus Fulham. On February 12, Bradley made his Aston Villa debut, coming on in the second half after Jean Makoun was sent off. It was said that Bradley would not join Villa on a permanent basis after Alex McLeish refused to extend his contract.
Chievo Verona
Bradley joined Italian Serie A club Chievo Verona on August 31, 2011.[6] He made his Chievo debut on September 18, coming on in the second half for Paolo Sammarco.
National team
In May 2006, Bradley was brought into the World Cup 2006 training camp in Cary, North Carolina to train with the United States national team. While not a member of the World Cup squad or an alternate, Bradley was on the roster for the three send-off friendlies played before the tournament. He earned his first cap in the May 26 match against Venezuela as a substitute and his second cap for the United States in the following game against Latvia, again as a substitute.
In late 2006, Bob Bradley was hired as head coach of the national team, and Michael established himself as a key player for the U.S. during his father's tenure. Bradley earned his first international start on March 28, 2007, during a friendly against Guatemala. He was a starter at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and helped lead the U.S. to the title, though he was sent off for a late tackle in the semifinal against Canada. The next month, he started every match for the U.S. at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he scored the game-winning goal in the 107th minute against Uruguay in the round of 16. He scored his first senior international goal on October 17, 2007, with a game-winner in the 87th minute against Switzerland in a friendly. Following these performances, Bradley was named U.S. Soccer's Young Athlete of the Year for 2007.
He had a strong performance, in what has been called his best game to that date for the national team, in a fourth round qualification game for the 2010 World Cup against Mexico in Columbus, Ohio, scoring two goals en route to a 2–0 victory.
During the United States' surprising run to the finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup, Bradley scored the U.S.'s second goal against Egypt in the 63rd minute off a pass from Landon Donovan. The goal helped the Americans advance to the semifinals after beating the Egyptians 3–0. He played an important role in the 2–0 upset victory against Spain, but was sent off late in the game by referee Jorge Larrionda, the same referee that sent off fellow American internationals Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope during the 2006 World Cup match against Italy. The resulting suspension kept Bradley out of the tournament final, which the U.S. ultimately lost 3–2 to Brazil. Bradley was later reported to have confronted Larrionda following the match, resulting in Bradley receiving an additional three match suspension to be served during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. On June 18, 2010, Bradley scored his eighth international goal against Slovenia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which tied the score of the game, 2–2. He captained the national team for the first time on August 10, 2010 against Brazil. In the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Bradley featured in each game, and scored his teams first goal in the final against Mexico. Despite his early goal, the United States went on to lose 4–2 to Mexico.
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