All Roads Lead to Roma: Bradley in the Eternal City v. I

well De Rossi isn't leaving so....

 

MB90 is going to actually have a bad game to be benched.

 

I thought he was pretty bad against Siena, but he was the only CM not subbed. Then he had a really good game against Fiorentina and again was the only CM not subbed.(Pjanic was at forward in both games) I wouldn't want to repeat the Siena performance with DDR waiting in the wings, plus Pjanic back in the midfield equation once Lamela returns. Who knows what Zeman will do if MB underperforms since he seems to really like and trust him now.(not that he didn't before but it seems like Bradley has really taken to the system and knows what Zeman wants) It helps that they have been winning since he got back into the lineup, with the exception of the Parma game.

 

Here are the pluses Bradley has going for him at Roma:

1. He is a tireless worker in a system that requires a very high work rate.
2. Zeman brought him in. In a way, he is Zeman's signature piece of the puzzle.
3. Bradley has quickly ascertained Zeman's system and basically drives the engine.
4. He has performed well from the beginning, in a variety of midfield positions and coming back from injury.
5. Bradley has played well as a piano carrier on a team loaded with piano players.
6. His basic skill package, passing dribbling, shooting, and particularly moving, is an appropriate fit for his specific role at Roma.
7. Zeman has proven his own faith in and commitment to Michael.

These are the areas where he can still improve in this system:

1. Performing better in the attacking third. Time and space are limited. The next level of technique and decision making would be a great addition to the package.
2. Can still make better decisions in reading and adjusting to the other team's counterattack.
3. Rome's defense is weak. It would be great to see him with solid defenders (and the starting gk)

 

Enjoying the ride, but you never know when things are going to change...or if they're going to change.

6-2-1 in Michael's nine starts (a stat only an uncle would track).

 

Is that american or euro? (I hate that we do it backwards)

Thing is, the way this team runs, there will be starts for everyone. No way you're going to have only 3-4 mids stay healthy and keep their legs for that long going this hard. Rotation is going to be key for Roma.

 

Damn, that means I am Sacha Kljestan's uncle.

 

6 wins.
2 losses.
1 tie.

 

Still needs to play more vertical balls but he seems to be doing it more frequently the last two matches.

He's really linking well with Pjanic.

 

If you missed the game

http://gooool.ru/news/chempionat_italii_2012_13_16_j_tur_roma_fiorentina/2012-12-09-14918

Hit play every 5 minutes so no commercials.

Enjoy.

It will be murder if Bradley doesnt get Male Soccer Player of the year next year if this run of form continues.

 

I have teenage sons who play in high school and club soccer. Neither will play professionally, I promise. But when I sit down to watch Michael play with them, the greatest thing they learn from their cousin is that you never stop playing. So you lose the ball. So you miss a good chance to score. So you get nut-megged. So you had a bad game last week. Or a bad first 20 minutes today. Or, maybe your first 10 passes were perfect. Doesn't matter. Just keep playing.

 

That's it and the basis for success in any field and life in general. Get knocked down 7 times get up 8.

 

I've coached a lot of youth players the last 25 years. Some really struggle with that kind of focus and dwell on the prior play. Others are just born with a need to seek out the next play, that will to compete regardless. I tell the kids that the NEXT play is the one that matters, but some don't get it. Indeed, I also struggle with that kind of focus when I play old farts league ball. It's not easy to move on to the next play sometimes and I really respect the guys who can.

I know which type of players I enjoy having on my teams.

 

Or, like Oliver Kahn used to shout at his team mates: "Weiter, weiter, immer weiter!"
("On and on, ever onwards!")

 

While I agree that there will (and should) be a rotation starts for everyone, two other things that work in Bradley's favor are that he can usually go a full 90 (see these last few games where he was the one who didn't get subbed out), and he rarely has persistent injury issues (knock on wood).

Well said.

 

http://fantamania.blogosfere.it/201...16a-giornata-pagelle-gazzetta-e-corsport.html

 

Who is you playin with? Back that ass up

 

Hope he doesn't get his hair styles from you.

 

Felt like making my first video in a long time.

 

Or as Muhammed Ali put it:

"Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong."

 

That was actually Jenna Jameson that said "ain’t nothing wrong with going down."

No big deal, common misconception.

 

Coaches invariably appreciate a MB-like player more so than (most) fans do. He's not flashy and won't score a ton of goals, but he will run ceaselessly and physically impose himself on the opposition, making them uncomfortable, and he will keep the ball moving (tick tock tick tock).

 

Most outstanding teams are made of Michael Bradley-type players. Excellence and consistency wins the most games. Flashiness and tons of goals are usually hit or miss.