Michael Bradley (1 Viewer)

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.

Americunt

How Michael Bradley became Chievo’s Captain America

Mirko Vucinic is not accustomed to battling superheroes. The Juventus forward’s selfishness in possession might make him a villain in the eyes of his own club’s supporters but it is hardly the sort of offence which catches the attention of mankind’s fictional protectors. As he advanced towards the edge of the Chievo penalty area somewhere around the 70-minute mark on Saturday night, it’s safe to assume the last thing he was expecting was a visit from Captain America.
And yet there he was, hurtling 40 yards across the pitch in the blink of an eye before taking Vucinic out with a tackle that was at once both ruthless and lawful. Michael Bradley might not carry a vibranium-steel alloy shield or turn up for work in a lycra bodysuit, but in moments like these it is easy to see why the people of Verona have taken to nicknaming him after the Marvel character. Steely-gazed and musclebound, he’s protected their defence from harm all season.

“What a player!” read the breathless verdict of Gazzetta dello Sport’s Mirko Graziano the following day. “He both destroys play and constructs it.” Simone Antolini, of the Verona-based Arena, could have told you that months ago. “Captain America does not want to wake up: his Italian dream continues,” he wrote on Monday. “More and more he looks like a key component of the Chievo midfield.”

The rest of the nation has been paying a little bit more attention since Bradley showed himself also to be a key component of a USA team that defeated Italy in Genoa last Wednesday. More than one journalistic observer noted in the wake of that match that his creative input for the Americans had compared favourably with the contributions made by Andrea Pirlo for the hosts.

That can only have been music to the ears of a player whose mere inclusion in the national side had for many years drawn accusations of nepotism. As much as it must have pained him to see his father Bob Bradley dismissed as USA coach after five years in the job last July, the midfielder will at least know there will be no further discussions about whether he has earned his place on merit.

Such suggestions always stung for a player who has prided himself all through his life on putting in the hours to get where he wants to go. As a kid when he decided that two training sessions and one match per week were insufficient, he simply took to turning up at his local club every day, gradually wearing down the organisers until they allowed him to work with the older age groups on nights when his own group weren’t practicing.
Asked how he planned to crack Serie A upon his arrival at Chievo, the first two words out of Bradley’s mouth were: “hard work”. Having grown up watching Serie A matches with his dad on RAI International every Sunday morning, Bradley used to dream of signing for Milan but would have no interest in doing so if it were only to train and collect a pay cheque every week. After spending last season warming the bench on loan at Aston Villa, his greatest aim this summer was to find a club where he could play every week.

There are few less-glamorous spots in Serie A than Chievo, a club that originally hail from a small suburb of Verona and whose very nickname—I Mussi Volanti (The Flying Donkeys)—stems from a taunt issued by supporters of the city’s better-supported team, Hellas, who used to hold up banners joking that the two might meet in Serie A “when donkeys fly”. And yet for Bradley, they were a perfect fit. “Chievo sought me out, they wanted me,” he said after joining. “They made it clear it was me specifically who they wanted.”

Even at Chievo, though, he would have to prove himself. Although he had indeed been a top target for the sporting director Giovanni Sartori, the new manager Domenico Di Carlo was initially minded to retain the club’s existing orchestrator-in-chief Luca Rigoni at the heart of the Chievo midfield. But Bradley’s form in training swiftly made such a position untenable. By the third game of the season he was starting alongside Rigoni, and when the latter got injured he took over as the team’s main regista.

Soon Bradley was undroppable; Di Carlo was jeered ferociously by Chievo’s supporters just for substituting the American during a defeat to Lazio. When Rigoni returned, those fans did not ask whether there would be room to keep Bradley in the side, but whether there was space for the Italian. Di Carlo has been able to find variations on a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-2-1 that make room for both players, but it is Bradley who leads the team in passes per game, and is second only to Perparim Hetemaj in number of tackles won.

There is no doubt Bradley has helped the team to win. With 12 games left to go, Chievo sit 10th in Serie A having already picked up 34 points, just six shy of the target Di Carlo had initially set for them to secure their top-flight status for another season. The club’s more optimistic fans have even begun speculating over a possible push for the Europa League places.

Off the pitch, Bradley has endeared himself further to the club’s fans by giving talks at local schools and opting to sit among the fans in the stands—along with his team-mates Cyril Théréau and Boukary Dramé—during a recent suspension. “All one big family,” declared one of the many thrilled callers to a phone-in on Radio Verona after the match. “This is the football that I adore.”

Bradley has taken to life in Verona, claiming it was “love at first sight” for he and his wife when they first saw the city, and expressing similarly great enthusiasm for the local risotto. He credits his English-speaking Slovenian team-mates Bojan Jokic and Bostjan Cesar for helping him settle, but he’s also applied himself to learning Italian, declaring from the outset that to do was “crucial” for being able to communicate effectively with team-mates on the pitch.

Most importantly of all, though, he is enjoying his football. “That’s when the magic starts,” he said when asked by a student at the Istituto Aleardo Aleardi (an international school) what goes through his mind at the opening whistle. “I always feel it inside me because in that moment I am doing the thing I love to do.” In Verona they love to watch him do it, too.

http://blogs.thescore.com/footyblog...chael-bradley-became-chievos-captain-america/

I remember him in dutch league performing beastic against ajax, psv and so on
and fail against small teams
and he was talking how he wanted to play CL that is why he left Heerenveen then

He would be good cover in a three man midfield.

I don't think he really thought about champions league when he went to Gladbach. He just wanted to play in a better league. He's changed his style completely since he was in Holland. So he's not remotely the same type of player he is at Chievo.

No american por favor.

I like this guy's M.O., but we really should be focusing on top shelf talent at positions of need, and then filling out some of the midfield depth with a youngster (or two).

Why don't we just get rossi (yank) and dempsey while we're at it and change our uniform to the stars and stripes? fuck this bald chievo cunt.

Anderlecht would be interested in getting him if Biglia leaves us.
Appearently, Kljestan has convinced him to consider coming to Belgium.

For a reasonable price, he'd be a good backup. If not, fuck it.

i would take him instead of nainggolan

Michael Bradley, fuck yeah!

We have boss CM's coming through, let's focus on other areas.

Wont even boost shirt sales with the 'merican economy in the shitter.

Pass.

Only one American I'd ever consider buying is Dempsey. Pass on all the others.

We still got plenty money for dumb shit though. But for real, it wouldn't boost t-shirt sales unless it were Man U, Chelsea, Madrid, or FC Messi.

---------- Post added 08.03.2012 at 10:06 ----------

Yikes, talk about a step down in competition.

---------- Post added 08.03.2012 at 10:07 ----------

Timmy Chandler.

We have Bouy, Appelt, Pogba and Marrone who will soon be ready to fight for a place in our midfield, we shouldn't buy a midfielder for a while.