- Michael Bradley (soccer)
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Michael Bradley 
Bradley in June 2010Personal information Full name Michael Sheehan Bradley Date of birth July 31, 1987 Place of birth Princeton, New Jersey, United States Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] Playing position Central midfielder Club information Current club Chievo Number 6 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– Chievo 9 (0) National team‡ 2006– United States 63 (9) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 20, 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 20, 2011Michael Bradley (born July 31, 1987) is an American soccer player who currently plays as a central midfielder for Chievo Verona in Serie A. He also has 60 caps for the United States national team, which was formerly coached by his father Bob Bradley.
Contents
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.[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 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.[5]
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.
Career statistics
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 Premiere Ligapokal 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 2011–12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 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 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 Career total 175 27 9 3 2 0 4 0 190 30 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.[7] 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.[8]
He had a strong performance, in what has been called his best game to that date for the national team,[9] 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.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.
International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 01. October 7, 2007 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland 
Switzerland1 – 0 1 – 0 Friendly 02. June 15, 2008 Home Depot Center, Carson, USA 
Barbados2 – 0 8 – 0 Q 2010 World Cup 03. September 10, 2008 Toyota Park, Bridgeview, USA 
Trinidad and Tobago1 – 0 3 – 0 Q 2010 World Cup 04. February 11, 2009 Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, USA 
Mexico1 – 0 2 – 0 Q 2010 World Cup 05. 2 – 0 06. June 21, 2009 Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Phokeng, South Africa 
Egypt2 – 0 3 – 0 2009 Confederations Cup 07. October 14, 2009 RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington, DC, USA 
Costa Rica1 – 2 2 – 2 Q 2010 World Cup 08. June 18, 2010 Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 
Slovenia2 – 2 2 – 2 2010 FIFA World Cup 09. June 25, 2011 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States Mexico1 – 0 2 - 4 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Honors
United States
- CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions (1): 2007
References
- ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/page/PlayerProfile/0,,12306~38332,00.html. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
- ^ Havsy, Jane (June 24, 2007). "U.S. Under-20 team holds off Chile". Daily Record (Morristown). http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/dailyrecord/access/1728312591.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+24%2C+2007&author=JANE+HAVSY&pub=Daily+Record&desc=U.S.+Under-20+team+holds+off+Chile&pqatl=google. Retrieved February 15, 2011. "Bradley grew up in Pennington while his father, US men's national team head coach Bob Bradley, coached at Princeton."
- ^ Coerts, Stefan (August 31, 2008). "Bradley Heading For Gladbach". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=842729. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
- ^ "Birmingham City miss out on two more targets". birminghammail.net. May 22, 2008. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2008/05/22/birmingham-city-miss-out-on-two-more-targets-97319-20947922/. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- ^ "Villa in talks with USA ace Bradley over loan move". January 30, 2011. http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2280127,00.html. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ "US midfielder Michael Bradley leaves Moenchengladbach for Chievo Verona in Italy". The Washington Post. August 31, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/dcunited/us-midfielder-bradley-set-to-join-serie-a-club-chievo-verona-as-transfer-window-nears-end/2011/08/30/gIQAHQelpJ_story.html. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ "Match Report: USA – Uruguay". FIFA. July 11, 2007. http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/u20worldcup/canada2007/results/match=58881/index.html. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- ^ "U.S. Soccers All-Time Athlete of the Year Award Winners". USSoccer.com. http://www.ussoccer.com/history/awards/athletes.jsp.html. Retrieved June 30, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Mahoney, Ridge (February 12, 2009). "Bradley goals down jittery Mexico, 2–0". Soccer America Magazine. http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=31021. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
- ^ "U.S. continues domination of Mexico on Bradley's two goals". Sports Illustrated. AP (Columbus, Ohio). February 11, 2009. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/soccer/02/11/mexico.us.soccer.ap/index.html?eref=T1. Retrieved February 12, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "U.S. Advances to Semifinals of FIFA Confederations Cup". USSoccer.com. June 21, 2009. http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_14942214.html. Retrieved June 26, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "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. http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_14942230.html. Retrieved June 26, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "Bradley suspended for three matches". ESPN. July 7, 2009. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=659555&sec=us&cc=5901. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- ^ Ornstein, David (June 18, 2010). "Slovenia 2–2 USA". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_22/default.stm. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
External links
- Michael Bradley career stats at Soccerbase
- Michael Bradley – FIFA competition record
- Michael Bradley interview at fohlen-hautnah.de (German)
- Current Michael Bradley News at followUSsoccer.com
A.C. ChievoVerona – current squad 1 Coletta · 3 Andreolli · 4 Morero · 5 Mandelli · 6 Bradley · 7 Sammarco · 8 Cruzado · 9 Moscardelli · 10 Luciano · 11 Gallozzi · 12 Cesar · 13 Jokić · 15 Acerbi · 16 Rigoni · 17 Puggioni · 18 Squizzi · 20 Sardo · 21 Frey · 23 Paloschi · 25 Vacek · 26 Djengoue · 31 Pellissier (c) · 39 Grandolfo · 54 Sorrentino · 56 Hetemaj · 77 Théréau · 88 Grippo · 90 Uribe · 91 Kirilov · 93 Dramé · Coach: Di Carlo
Categories:- 1987 births
- Living people
- American soccer players
- American people of English descent
- American expatriate soccer players
- MetroStars players
- Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer)
- People from Pennington, New Jersey
- People from Princeton, New Jersey
- People from Palatine, Illinois
- United States men's international soccer players
- SC Heerenveen players
- Borussia Mönchengladbach players
- Aston Villa F.C. players
- A.C. ChievoVerona players
- Eredivisie players
- Fußball-Bundesliga players
- Premier League players
- Serie A footballers
- Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
- Expatriate footballers in Germany
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Expatriate footballers in Italy
- Olympic soccer players of the United States
- 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 2010 FIFA World Cup players
- 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players
- Soccer players from New Jersey
- Chicago Sockers players
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