TORONTO – It’s shaping up to be quite the week for Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley.
On Wednesday night, Bradley captained the United States national team to a 2-1 win over Jamaica in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Bradley was also named to the Gold Cup all-star team, and he won the Golden Ball Award as the competition’s MVP for good measure.
Less than 24 hours later, Bob Bradley, Michael’s father, was officially named the first head coach of Los Angeles FC, an expansion franchise that will begin play in Major League Soccer in 2018.
Fresh off winning the Gold Cup with TFC teammates Jozy Altidore and Justin Morrow, Bradley is back in Toronto, where he’ll suit up for the Reds in Sunday’s home game against New York City FC. If TFC win, Bradley and his cohorts will cement their firm hold on first place in MLS, and open up a six-point lead in the standings over NYCFC.
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No wonder TFC’s captain was all smiles as he spoke with local reporters upon his return to town ahead of Sunday’s marquee tilt.
“To share moments like [winning the Gold Cup] with Jozy and Justin, it means a lot,” Bradley said.
“I think it motivates us even more to come back here and continue to push, and really make sure that when the trophies are getting passed out at the end of the season, that we’re right there.”
Toronto managed a pair of draws while Bradley, Altidore and Morrow were away at the Gold Cup, including a 2-2 stalemate at Yankee Stadium. With just one loss in their last six games, the Reds top the league table and are a leading contender to win the MLS Cup. There’s still plenty of soccer remaining to play, of course. But Bradley believes TFC is the team to beat as the season enters the home stretch.
“We’ve put ourselves in great position. We’re in a spot where every game from here on in is huge. We want to win the Supporters’ Shield, we want to give ourselves real momentum going in to the playoffs and so it’s exciting,” Bradley said.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against and it doesn’t matter where. Every game is going to mean the world to us.”
TFC’s captain was absolutely beaming when asked about his father landing the LA job.
Bob Bradley had been out of work since December when he was fired as coach of English Premier League club Swansea City. A former MLS coach of some repute, Bradley was twice named the league’s coach of the year, and won the MLS Cup in 1998 with the Chicago Fire. He also enjoyed a successful stint as manager of the U.S. national team, guiding the Americans to a Gold Cup title in 2007 and to the finals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Bradley broke a significant barrier when he became the first American to coach a Premier League team, but his time in England was pretty turbulent. He lasted just 11 games before the Swans fired him. Michael felt his father was treated unfairly by the Welsh club.
“I’m really excited for him. Nobody’s been more angry or frustrated than me in this last stretch for him, in terms of the way things were handled at Swansea and just this idea that he isn’t able to on a daily basis do what he loves, which is being on the field, coaching, trying to get the best out of players and teams,” TFC’s captain said.
“And so when somebody you’re that close with is ultimately treated in a way that’s so wrong, that’s not easy to take. There was never any doubt for me that ultimately he was going to find a good situation where the vision of the club and the visions of the people there matched his drive and ambition to coach and to lead and to build something different. I couldn’t be more excited for him.”
Bob Bradley coached his son in MLS when a then 16-year-old Michael played for the MetroStars in 2004. Shortly thereafter, Michael made the move to Europe and featured for a number of clubs, but he played for his father again when he was in charge of the U.S. national team from 2006 to 2011.
While he’s happy his dad is back in MLS, Bradley isn’t especially looking forward to playing against him.
“If they could create a schedule next year where we could never play LAFC, I’d gladly take that, but I guess I’ll have to settle for being LAFC’s biggest fan for 33 games and not 34 games next year,” Bradely quipped.
And no, to answer the obvious question, Bradley hasn’t put in a request to be traded to LAFC so he can be reunited with his father.
“He’s got a pretty good situation here on a team that’s ready to win. I don’t think that’s in the cards,” TFC coach Greg Vanney offered.
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