TORONTO – It’s not as though Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore have mixed emotions or have a heavy heart about playing the New York Red Bulls in the MLS playoffs.
They badly want to beat New York when Toronto FC visits Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey on Monday in the opening leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal. But this playoff series does serve as a homecoming of sorts for Bradley and Altidore, who were both born in the Garden State and made their professional debuts with the New York club.
Bradley was a fourth-round pick in the 2004 MLS draft of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (as they were known back then). A foot injury prevented him from seeing any action that year, but he made his debut as a 17-year-old the following campaign when he appeared in 30 games for the MetroStars.
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Bob Bradley, Michael’s father, coached the team but was fired with three games left in the season, and the MetroStars were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The following winter, Michael was sold to Dutch club SC Heerenveen. He ended up playing in Europe for a number of clubs before returning to MLS in 2014 when he signed with Toronto.
Despite how things ended for him and his father, Bradley has fond memories of his single season in New York.
"It was my first professional club. The experience of playing for my dad and how much I learned and how much I improved — it played a big part early in my career. The first years I was injured for most of the year so that wasn’t great, and then the way things ended wasn’t what you would have hoped for, but in the end, it led to bigger and better things for both my dad and me," Bradley offered.
But Bradley’s not too sentimental about his return to New York. TFC’s captain gave a blunt "no" when asked if this series has any extra meaning for him given his personal history with the club.
"No extra meaning. It’s two big games, a playoff series with everything on the line. That’s a lot. I’m not sure there’s room for anything extra," Bradley offered.
Altidore also cut his teeth with New York, selected in the second round of the 2006 MLS draft by the Red Bulls. The hulking forward scored 19 goals, including one in the playoffs, during his two seasons in New York before being sold to Spanish club Villarreal in the summer of 2008.
"It was my first club. My first playoff goal ever was there; my very first taste of [professional] football was there. I have great memories of my time there," Altidore admitted.
It wasn’t all sweetness and light in New York, though. At the time, the team played in front of sparse crowds at Giants Stadium, often times with the NFL football lines still painted on the field. Needless to say, it didn’t provide the best atmosphere.
"The ghetto times, man. That was ‘hard knocks’ time," Altidore joked. "We had not many people in the stadium, and it was just us — we had to get ourselves up for those games. It was interesting, but it was still fun in its own way."
Table-topping Toronto finished 19 points above sixth-place New York in the Eastern Conference standings and also took the regular-season series. The teams battled to a 1-1 draw on May 19 in New Jersey while TFC earned a 4-2 home win on Sept. 30.
The victory at BMO Field allowed the Reds to officially clinch the Supporters’ Shield, the trophy given to the side that finishes the regular season in first place.
A lot has been made of how the Red Bulls’ aggressive high-pressing game has caused problems for opponents this season. Neither Altidore nor Bradley seem too worried about it or how TFC matches up against New York, though.
"We’ve played them in the past and what we’ve done worked, so I don’t think there’ll be too much to change. Obviously, there’s more at stake but I think it’ll be a lot more of the same from us. I don’t think we should change much; we’ve had a great season," Altidore said.
Bradley echoed his teammate’s sentiments.
"You don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about what’s a good matchup, what’s a bad matchup. … We have a lot of respect for [New York], the team they have and the way they go about things. The regular season for them this year wasn’t what it has been in the last few years, but it’s a team that believes in how they do things, believes in how they want to play. We expect them to challenge us in a big way. We’re going to be ready," Bradley stated.
TFC will host New York in the second leg on Nov. 5 at BMO Field. Should Toronto advance, they’ll meet either New York City FC or the Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference final. TFC would have home-field advantage for that series should it get past New York.
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