Oh pls Lord God in Heaven, I hope he goes to Spain/Italy. He seems to not have any problems adapting to the country/culture. I am guessing that since he's from New Jersey, learning Spanish/Italian would be a cinch!!! By the looks of it, he speaks decent Dutch. Maybe Rogers couldn't. Let's hope he doesn't have a "deer in headlights" look about him, like his uncle!!! Double
Spain would be horrible due to the proclivity of anything resembling contact being called a foul. Bradley is just too physical a player to do well there. Maybe, playing there would force him to tone down that aspect of his game. But, he would certainly suffer a large number of cards in the learning process.
Oh God, it seems that on BS everyone's solution for the next club is always the EPL. From a USMNT point of view, I would rather see him settle in in La Liga or Italy - a better fit for him, IMHO. The EPL is too much like a track meet.
Italy or La Liga definitely. I wonder why no American players (since Vanney) go to France. Bordeaux would be a great fit for Bradley. Johan Micoud was a great playmaker at Werder Bremen, but is now in the limelight of his career at Bordeaux. Right now Bordeaux is 3rd behind AS Nancy Lorraine and Lyon, so Champions League is a definite possibility next year. Bordeaux's real weak point is their midfield (aside from Micoud, who will retire soon) and Bradley would be a welcome addition.
I'd like to see him land in Germany. You mentioned Werder, maybe that would be a good spot for him. Replacement for Frings?
In the other Bradley thread I posted that the rumor is going round that coach Verbeek is leaving at the end of the season and that another rumor was linking him to Ajax, currently without a head coach. I doubted that, because van Basten just reseigned as coach of the Orange team after the EC2008 tournement. But now I received info that van Basten broke of the contacts with Ajax, so it might well be the case that Vrebeek heads to Ajax.Will Mike then follow suite? It would be unwise as a young player to jump immediately to a high profile club, the better way is by one of the Dutch big four (Feyenoord, PSV, AZ or Ajax) as was done by other Heerenveen players like van Nistelrooy or Groningen player Robben.
I wouldn't mind a move to PSV or Ajax at all, but to Mike's agent (and likely to Mike) that'd be a lateral move, or a slight upgrade. Frankly, H'Veen will likely demand too high a transfer fee as well. I really don't like the Serie A. I find it boring, the atmosphere is often stale, and there are too many stopages (seems like everything is a foul/injury). That said, I think it'd be a great place for Mike to develop. I think he's going to cost around 10 million Euros, and I think Milan would love to snap up a young, talented player that could learn A LOT from Gattuso and Pirlo. Bradley - AC Milan = Dream Scenario Bradley - Everton = what's going to happen. I'd rather he play in Serie A or La Liga, as he'll better improve his passing/vision/tactical acumen. He'll be a good EPL 2-way, he fits the mold to perfection (the classical 4-4-2, 2-way mid). With the money, the language (although he seemed to learn Dutch with the quickness), and the Yanks in EPL, it just seems the smart money is on a move to a mid-table EPL side.
I'm glad your able to divorce those two things, your personal dislike for Serie A, but the knowledge it might be best for Bradley. Too many people here look it as: I like Premiership = I want every decent Yank playing there You got it right with the "smart money" comment. The Premiership pays WELL, it might be too much for him to pass up, especially considering he won't have to learn a new language if he goes to England.
Seems like his manager reads BS. "I don't expect that he'll be playing with Heerenveen for long." - Heerenveen manager Gertjan Verbeek after watching Michael Bradley hit a hat trick to beat FC Groningen
I'll stick with La Liga as my league of choice, but he could definitely learn a thing or two from a top 6 Italian club. I don't get the impression that Bradley is the kind of kid who'd have much trouble with culture shock, the way say Donovan did. And given his USMNT future, I think it would actually benefit him to learn Spanish.
It would benefit everybody to learn another language. However, I'm just saying after such a culture shock and adjustment to the Netherlands, he might not want to do it again in Spain or Italy, especially if the money and glamour of the Premiership comes calling. I'm just throwing it out there.
Oh, I'm not saying he won't go to the EPL. He most probably will. Money talks, as they say... I just think his career would be better served (longterm) playing further south. Not that I consider it a possibility, but learning from Pirlo? From Matusso? Sì per favore.
"money and glam of EPL" is a figment in the minds of Americans who get FSC, aka Skysports. More of the top players in the world go to Lalgue or SerieA or Bundesliga.
In Italy, I'd love to see him with Juventus. They are rebuilding after the scandals, but they still have the money to pay for Bradley's transfer fee (6-10 mil Euros). I haven't seen them play in a while, but I think it could be a good place for Mike. In Spain, an Athletico Madrid, Valencia, or Sevilla could be good places for him. I'd rather not see him go to an EPL side. A lot of those clubs play s**t football tactically (ie long ball).
Right away no, but he could work his way up. As awesome as a dream move to Milan would be, I'd like to see him spend some time with either Munich or Werder, since playing time would probably be more realistic. I'm still undecided about where I would like to see him go though
I have a vision of expectations returning to the world of realism ... But then I awoke to realize it was only a dream.