Kind of sad that it’s most likely over for him. T&T happened, of course, and will always loom large, but I’ll mostly remember the years of him battling alongside Donovan and Dempsey during some really fun runs to follow. Also any active players who are formerly of MetroStars are cool in my book.
He was definitely one that became tagged as one of those "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" types of players
Nope, none of this is accurate. He doesn't control tempo; he limits it because he's immobile at this point in his career. His long-range passing is fine, but not at the expense of being a traffic cone on defense, and his leadership acumen is one of the most overrated things in the history of US soccer.
Doesn't seem to be the impression of many of his coaches or teammates, and we have a lot of track record. I think TFC's general status as one of the powerhouse MLS clubs says a lot. Michael Bradley was a primary factor in turning TFC completely around... which looked like it couldn't be done. Haters can do their best to discredit his on-field contribution to that turnaround and that's somewhat subjective so, fine. But the interview clip above sure sounds like he's settiing a good example. And I was just reading Sam Stejskal say players don't take pay cuts, for instance. And the MLSPU would be dead against that and whatnot - but just one forgotten example of Michael's leadership - which for some reason some people badly want to discredit - was he supposedly took a significant pay cut to get more of the talent he thought TFC needed into the club. Well that worked. And I do want that kind of character around our program. If that means MB gets a few more surprise caps in a crowded schedule, and looks slow and bald, I could deal with that, eye roll and swear at my tv and move on.
He didn’t take a pay cut. His contract was up. There was zero I repeat zero chance TFC was bringing him back at 6.5 mill. They offered him what they thought he was worth and he signed and decided to stay. Likely more than most would have paid him. 1.5 is a lot in MLS. Don’t make it out to be altruism.
Coaches are generally meatheads who value superficial behavior that looks like leadership but is really just someone playing at being a leader. The Athletic article outlining the qualifying failure in 2018 paints a less-than-positive picture of how his leadership was received by the NT. I'd probably say that Bradley going there might have helped TFC, but Giovenco and Altidore had a lot more to do with their success than Bradley did, and even if you grant Bradley being a key cog on their cup sides, he's old and bad now and his statement about the NT would be amusing if it weren't so deluded.
"He knows how to get a hold of me" is the most nicey-meanie way for him to have phrased the answer to the question. Maybe passive-aggressive would have been better phrasing than ultimatum but it was definitely not a benign answer.
He basically just said, "It's a coach's decision; I'll play if they want me and if not I'll root for the team." That's not an ultimatum in any way. Of course he wants to keep playing -- the dude is whatever the equivalent of a gym rat is for soccer. He's a competitor as much as his detractors like to paint him as lazy or not caring. The level of Bradley hate across the fanbase is absurd. The dude is done, but from Day 1 there's been a desperate attempt to put every failure on him, starting with supposed coach's favoritism onto this idea that 2017 is all on him because he was captain.
Ok, though that doesn't seem to be the only account of it I've encountered but if that's the case I stand corrected. Don't see why it's so important to strip him of credit or leadership or any altruism or his obvious positive qualities / impact on TFC and the US program for that matter. And I'm saying this as US fan who thought MB should have been a national team role player all along. His role in particular game/series might be the linchpin, fine, but I wasn't close enough (I guess) to appreciate why his was the first name on the sheet for so long. I was very annoyed by the extent of hype and sacred cow status he enjoyed for most of the Bradley and Klinsmann years.
Yes, I'm sure when you play a high level game of soccer, running a 10k, by the end you are sprinting everywhere at the end like a crazy man, despite you know, the ball not being in play. I'm sure you also have no interest in perhaps calming down a bit and focusing to take a key corner. After a short turnaround from the last game. There are points where the body simply does not respond. I find it weird that Bradley -- who did not have a great Trinidad game -- bears so much of the responsibility for being the captain and for some jogging -- when we had an own goal and a long shot given up that Howard absolutely should have saved. I find it weird that lack of qualifying hangs so much on Bradley when he actually played well on balance during qualifying -- including playing fantastically in a 1-1 tie at the Azteca (for those who say he never came up big when it was needed) despite definitely having lost a step. Look, he's super arrogant and I think his style of leadership works with some and not. He had already lost a step by 2017 but was more than good enough to be a major force for a dominant Toronto team. He didn't play poorly in qualifying and there's a slew of people I'd put waay before him including JK, Arena, Brooks, Howard and a bunch of other guys who often get passes. I don't really get where the hate comes from. Dude was a very good player for us for a long time, but has been a perennial whipping boy. He has his flaws like any player, but the negatives placed on him are ridiculous.
He leadership has been called into question more than once. I’m not stripping him of anything. At this point in his career he’s washed. He’s done. He shouldn’t be anywhere close to the team in 2021. We’re not talking about the past. We’re talking about the present and leadership is an often overused term. I’d rather the next generation stretch their wings and take new roles. Not a past their sell date player who shouldn’t be on the field trying to flex any remaining muscle he may have in the lockerroom. I don’t care about TFC. This is USMNT.
Because if he doesn’t pick him, he will watch the game with his son? I guess that will cause a lot of sleepless nights for GB. Just sounds like stating the obvious.
It sounds to me like a guy who knows he's done, but really, really doesn't want to be done, all but admitting that he's done without committing to admit that he's done and holding the door open. (Knowing that it's in vain...)
Mike's watching the game with his son, a future MLS coach and USSF board member. Greg is an American soccer coach who would never get hired anywhere else. He has a great job. he doesn't want to lose that job. So if Mike talks about playing. Greg could say no to Mike and it would be no. But he's all alone in this job, so if Mike asks, he'd never say no. Because of the implication.
the implication is pretty specific to be an implication but not enough of a threat to qualify as an ultimatum. If he doesn't get chosen, he will sit home and cheer the team with his son....doesn't sound like something very threatening. (an ultimatum requires the threat of some sort of action or retaliation). what, aside from sitting home with his son, is implied here?
The only thing the Bradley haters would accept is something like this: "Of course, I'm not getting called in the National Team. Not only am I a terrible player now, but I was never any good. My daddy gave me unearned playing time and I deliberately sabotaged our World Cup bid in 2017. All those keyboard warriors who totally give 100% even though they spend half the work day on the internet were ALWAYS RIGHT."
Yes, that WOULD do nicely except for the bit about unearned playing time. That was a dumb argument from 2007-2015 or so. I’d also like him to apologize for getting sent off against Spain and for his hospital ball to Ricardo Clark if that’s also on the table.