Michael Bradley (soccer)

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Michael Bradley
Michael Bradley at media roundtable during World Cup 2010-06-17.JPG
Bradley in 2010
Personal information
Full name Michael Sheehan Bradley
Date of birth (1987-07-31) July 31, 1987 (age 25)
Place of birth Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing position Central midfielder
Club information
Current club Roma
Number 4
Youth career
Chicago Sockers
2002–2004 IMG Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2004–2005 MetroStars 30 (1)
2006–2008 Heerenveen 57 (16)
2008–2011 Borussia Mönchengladbach 76 (10)
2011 → Aston Villa (loan) 3 (0)
2011–2012 Chievo 35 (1)
2012– Roma 30 (1)
National team‡
2002–2004 United States U17 6 (0)
2004 United States U18 1 (0)
2004–2007 United States U20 8 (1)
2008 United States U23 4 (0)
2006– United States 75 (11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 6, 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 30, 2013

Michael Bradley (born July 31, 1987) is an American soccer player who currently plays as a central midfielder for Roma in Serie A as well as the United States national team.

Contents

Early life [edit]

Bradley was born in Princeton, New Jersey, son to Bob Bradley, then coach of the Princeton University 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 (MLS), 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 Men's National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida — the dedicated facility for the training of the Under-17 national team — for four semesters, from the 2002 to 2004.

Professional career [edit]

Metrostars [edit]

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 [edit]

In January 2006, Bradley became the youngest MLS player to ever be sold when he was transferred to Heerenveen for an amount which remains undisclosed. His first start for the Frisian club came on April 16, 2006, in a match against AZ. 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 football 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 eighteen, with sixteen league goals.

Borussia Mönchengladbach [edit]

On August 31, 2008, Bradley signed a four-year deal with Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach for an undisclosed fee.[3] 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.[4] 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 an 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.[5]

Loan to Aston Villa [edit]

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 against 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 [edit]

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. He has been nicknamed "The General" by the local fans. Bradley scored his first goal in Italian football in a 3–2 victory over Catania on April 7 to take his side up to ninth in the league standings.[7]

Roma [edit]

Bradley with Roma teammate Pablo Daniel Osvaldo

On July 16, 2012, Bradley joined Roma, signing a four-year contract for €3.75 million.[8][9] On July 17, 2012, Bradley made his debut for A.S. Roma as a starter in a 2–1 victory against fellow U.S. national team member Terrence Boyd and Rapid Wien of the Austrian Bundesliga. On July 25, 2012, Bradley scored his first goal in Roma kit in a club friendly against Liverpool F.C. at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. On August 19, Bradley scored his second preseason goal against Aris F.C.

On August 25, Bradley made his league debut as a starter for A.S Roma in their 2–2 draw against Catania; he picked up the assist in Roma's game tying goal in the 90th minute. On October 7, 2012, in his first game back after a month-long groin injury, Bradley scored his first goal for the Giallorossi in Roma's 2–0 win over Atalanta.

In late January Bradley got praise from freelance writer for ESPN.com Michael Cox stating that Serie A are choosing midfielders like Bradley, who "epitomizes the new breed of Serie A midfielder, who's all about energy and hard running." rather than the typical "number 10".

Career statistics [edit]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2004 MetroStars Major League Soccer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005 30 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 33 1
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
2005–06 Heerenveen Eredivisie 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
2006–07 21 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 25 0
2007–08 30 16 2 2 0 0 0 0 32 18
Germany League DFB-Pokal Other Europe Total
2008–09 Borussia Mönchengladbach Bundesliga 28 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 5
2009–10 29 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 31 2
2010–11 19 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 22 4
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2010–11 Aston Villa (loan) Premier League 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2011–12 Chievo Serie A 31 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 32 1
2012–13 Roma 27 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 31 1
Total USA 30 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 33 1
Netherlands 57 16 2 2 0 0 4 0 63 18
Germany 76 10 5 1 0 0 0 0 81 11
England 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Italy 53 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 57 2
Career total 219 29 12 3 2 0 4 0 238 32

National team [edit]

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.[10] 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. football's Young Athlete of the Year for 2007.[11]

He had a strong performance, in what has been called his best game to that date for the national team,[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] 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 team's first goal in the final against Mexico. Despite his early goal, the United States went on to lose 4–2 to Mexico.

International goals [edit]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
01. October 17, 2007 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland  Switzerland
1 – 0
1 – 0
Friendly
02. June 15, 2008 Home Depot Center, Carson, United States  Barbados
2 – 0
8 – 0
Q 2010 World Cup
03. September 10, 2008 Toyota Park, Bridgeview, United States  Trinidad and Tobago
1 – 0
3 – 0
Q 2010 World Cup
04. February 11, 2009 Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, United States  Mexico
1 – 0
2 – 0
Q 2010 World Cup
05.
2 – 0
06. June 21, 2009 Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng, South Africa  Egypt
2 – 0
3 – 0
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
07. October 14, 2009 RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington, DC, United States  Costa Rica
1 – 2
2 – 2
Q 2010 World Cup
08. June 18, 2010 Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa  Slovenia
2 – 2
2 – 2
2010 FIFA World Cup
09. June 25, 2011 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States  Mexico
1 – 0
2 – 4
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
10. May 26, 2012 EverBank Field, Jacksonville, United States  Scotland
2 – 0
5 – 1
Friendly
11. November 14, 2012 Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar, Russia  Russia
1 – 1
2 – 2
Friendly

Honors [edit]

United States

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved March 11, 2011. 
  2. ^ Havsy, Jane (June 24, 2007). "U.S. Under-20 team holds off Chile". Daily Record (Morristown). Retrieved February 15, 2011.  "Bradley grew up in Pennington while his father, US men's national team head coach Bob Bradley, coached at Princeton."
  3. ^ Coerts, Stefan (August 31, 2008). "Bradley Heading For Gladbach". Retrieved September 2, 2008.  Text "] " ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Birmingham City miss out on two more targets". birminghammail.net. May 22, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2011. 
  5. ^ "Villa in talks with USA ace Bradley over loan move". January 30, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011. 
  6. ^ "US midfielder Michael Bradley leaves Moenchengladbach for Chievo Verona in Italy". The Washington Post. August 31, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2011. 
  7. ^ "Chievo Verona 3-2 Catania". ESPN Soccernet. April 7, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012. 
  8. ^ "MICHAEL BRADLEY E ADRIAN MARIUS STOIAN" (PDF) (in Italian). A.S. Roma. July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2013. 
  9. ^ "Michael Bradley signs with Roma". FOX Soccer. July 15, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012. 
  10. ^ "Match Report: USA – Uruguay". FIFA. July 11, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2011. 
  11. ^ "U.S. Soccers All-Time Athlete of the Year Award Winners". USSoccer.com. Retrieved June 30, 2009. [dead link]
  12. ^ Mahoney, Ridge (February 12, 2009). "Bradley goals down jittery Mexico, 2–0". Soccer America Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2009. 
  13. ^ "U.S. continues domination of Mexico on Bradley's two goals". Sports Illustrated (Columbus, Ohio). AP. February 11, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009. [dead link]
  14. ^ "U.S. Advances to Semifinals of FIFA Confederations Cup". USSoccer.com. June 21, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2009. [dead link]
  15. ^ "U.S. Men's National Team Advances to First-Ever Final in a FIFA Tournament with 2–0 Victory Against Spain in 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup". USSoccer.com. June 24, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2009. [dead link]
  16. ^ "Bradley suspended for three matches". ESPN. July 7, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2011. 
  17. ^ Ornstein, David (June 18, 2010). "Slovenia 2–2 USA". BBC Sport. Retrieved June 19, 2010. 

External links [edit]

A.S. Roma – current squad
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