Inside The Pro presents: Michael Bradley

Inside The Pro presents the stories of six USMNT athletes rising up to Write The Future with the world's elite.
Michael Bradley got started early. From youth clubs to a 16-year-old pro to the youngest American player ever transferred overseas, it's been an amazing journey for the central midfielder who now runs the engine of his German club team and the USMNT.
Watch the video, get Inside The Pro with Michael Bradley, and learn what it takes to compete at the top.
Write The Future

[@Muscl3Mus3um]

As a villa fan watchign this video i think it would be great if we kept a player such as michael, pure enthusiasm and work rate just like our dear petrov. Players like these keep the team successful

[@rutgersmike]

guy is all heart. Every team needs at least one type of player like this on the field at all times.

[@ronaldoomessi710]

And to think people say he's on the team because of his father...he is the heart of our attack, all of our plays run through him, especially against england alot of US players began to panic and rush the passes but bradley controlled the passes easy and got off great passes to teammates, he really set the tempo for US and hope he remains in good form

[@fetti28]

Bradley is a good player for the US. Michael keep workin' hard

[@ussoccerfan95]

great video he rocks he works hard for us all the time in the midfield and he does really well and I like to hear what he did when he was my age I like his story

[@bryanrivera762]

He is incredible to watch live his presence on the field is big. He controls the ball very well and moves the team

[@GREdimitraki12]

most underrated american player. honestly he carried us through the world cup

[@Bentaylor54]

Can't wait to see Bradley in action for Villa, about time we got a good flow of decent, dedicated players. We don't belong in the championship or the bottom half of the league!

[@tbmike23]

Very few effective midfielders are equally good on offense AND defense. Schweinsteiger, Fletcher, a few others, Bradley is one of them and he's still developing. Kids a fighter and a winner. Good signing.

[@xxcrucificioxx]

wow looking forward to see this guy play

[@etosamuel]

fantastic player

[@d10football10]

Great video, I hope he has a good world cup.

[@ultralight9]

the guy was kinda a none factor to me regarding the MNT...but i saw how he played at the confederations cup in S.A AND THEN THE WORLD CUP S.A 2010. DUDE WAS GREAT. my mvp of the american team. outstanding work Michael Bradley.

[@keevinac]

Omg he's gonna be one of the best midfielders!

[@scottab140]

My favorite player for the MNST.

[@slayertinousamex4722]

by far my favorite player he is the US anchor on the team my idol

[@mariotraversa6944]

I play for Sockers FC and I have to say this club is amazing

[@bouknight91]

UNDERRATED

[@MundiaLizm]

Then there's his pass to Davies that started the sequence on the 1st goal and his pass to Feilhaber that started the sequence on the 2nd goal against Spain. Then his goal against Spain. That's 15 good things he's done compared to the four you pointed out. That's not even taking into consideration his passing(2nd best on the team) and his ground covered(most on team, mid-twenties in the whole tournament).

[@MundiaLizm]

Interesting statistics on Bradley in the World Cup He was second behind only Steve Cherundolo in passes complete and passes attempted. He came away with 71 % while Steve had 70% He lost only ONE ball in possession after playing every minute possible for the USA. He was 6th in the tournament in tackles with 8 and 9th in the tournament in tackles to gain possession with 4. He covered the most ground on the team with 51.69.

[@woohoolookatme1]

he is so good with ChievoVerona now...the italians are falling in love with him.

[@MundiaLizm]

Okay. We ALL know Tim Howard looked right over at Landon Donovan when he started talking about the day-to-day demands in Europe at 2:25 ...

[@reziboy100]

where the us players lack in skill they make up for it with passion and determination.

[@ultralight9]

Toronto fc has him now...and I was very impressed by his first game for them.

[@milloselmejor]

If I'm not mistaken from 4:24 -4:27, Bradley is practicing at FIU (Florida International University) If that's true, then I wish I had been on campus that day to see him there.

[@shishi123]

i love you michael :)

[@Fleming89b]

I would love to see this guy playing on FC Porto next season.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Anyone that has seen Michael Bradley play acknowledges that he's a hard worker on defense. Also, I think your definition of a good pass is one that is going to have an immediate offensive impact. Bradley's job is to help set a rhythm for his team with his passing and disrupt the other teams rhythm up the center of the park with good defensive work. His passing gets poor when he's in his opponents half trying to spring an attack, but it's excellent when he's in the midfield.

[@MundiaLizm]

@Jazztimuzzz Also, you've got Torres a bit wrong. He may be an amazing passer who just about always hits his mark and composed, skilled player under pressure, he's more like a deep-lying midfielder who sets the tempo for how the USA moves the ball rather than try to crack defenses. I like Torres because he's not just good on the ball but he positions himself to break up attacks, something Clark doesn't do. Him sitting deep allows Bradley to move around and impose that tempo around the field.

[@Blindianboy]

nice video

[@CFLWjgjc]

with him and Edu coming up in europe now, our center will be just fine...and having donovan and dempsey out wide doesnt hurt either

[@Jazztimuzzz]

@TheNearPost but What i say is, that Freddy Adu just has that vision, and that creativity that the U.S lacks and needs. we already saw what him and jozy can do together in the u-20 world cup, they were unstoppable. he just has that tendency to make plays. hes a playmaker that the u.s needs in order for Donovan, Dempsey, Jozy, and our other forward that we have in, need. HELL!!! he can even give Bradley sum good runs too.

[@MundiaLizm]

@ultralight9 I agree with everything except the non-factor part. Ask anyone and they'll tell you how important he was. Of course, he's improved since before the Confederations Cup so I would say that his impact has increased.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 I love how you think you can just say it and it's true. Bradley WAS going towards Annan, who was actually Clint Dempsey's man. Annan was the deepest man in Ghana's midfield, as shown in all lineup diagrams that I've looked up, so it wasn't Bradley's job to be marking him. Bradley should have been marking Kwadwo Asamoah if anything, as Steven Appiah(Edu's man) was the highest player up the field after Kevin Boateng, Bradley's original assignment, was injured and subbed off.

[@thechosen9278]

If Donovan is the heart, Altidore is the strength, Dempsey is the skill, Bradley is the engine. I mean, he's not very good like the best american player of all time Landon Donovan, but he puts heart, he fight all the balls, he lead the team at the back line, yes, he makes mistakes, but he solves many too. He plays because he is bob bradley son yes, but nobody can't deny that he's a good player who gives stability to the midfield. P.D: sorry for my bad english, i'm latin

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 England goal - Rico loses his Gerrard, DeMerit doesn't put pressure on Heskey, Gooch gets dragged out too easily. Slovenia goal 1 - Torres doesn't mark Birsa, who he's closer to, and Gooch doesn't step out to stop the shot. Slovenia goal 2 - Gooch isn't level with the offside trap. Ghana goal 1 - Rico loses it, DeMerit back tracks too much, Howard gets beat near post. Ghana goal 2 - Bocanegra doesn't get enough on the ball to stop Gyan and then loses it.

[@vashishlv]

@kizaola well yes... only bcoz its a sponsorship deal...either with the team or the player...for e.g rooney has nike one and torres has those as well and they do nike commercials

[@JasonWallich]

0:40 THATS WHAT SHE SAID

[@rapidos17]

Everybody who is saying Michael only plays for the niational team because his dad is the coach is wrong. Michael is a great defensive midfielder in the mold of Pablo Mastroeni who is only 23 years old. He WILL get better and will surely be in his prime by the next world cup. Also everybody who is saying he should grow out his hair: he can't. He's bald, just like his dad. I think he pulls off the Kojak look pretty well for a white guy.

[@stevanroth]

Will, in the future become Villa captain and legend, I have no doubt.

[@MundiaLizm]

@Jazztimuzzz But WHERE do you put him? Next to Jozy? Freddy played well at the left wing position at Aris, not as a second striker. If Jozy is going to play as the target, then he needs someone playing off of him to help break down back lines. Freddy did that at the U20 level, but not anywhere else. The USA never needed a "playmaker" to beat Spain. If we put him in front of Bradley, there isn't enough defensive ability to help against tougher teams like England or Spain.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Was the man who played the longball, not Anthony Annan(my mistake). Do you know what Andre Ayew was playing that game? WINGER. He had even switched flanks over to Ghana's right. Michael Bradley was on the right of the USA's central midfield, meaning they were on complete opposite flanks. If anything, Benny Feilhaber should have been the man to get to Ayew, because Feilhaber was on the same side as him, but he didn't. Are you going to try and tell me that Michael Bradley, a central

[@vashishlv]

@kizaola they change them nearly every match... nd also some one in the bootroom usually cleans them

[@CoolHandLuke7]

@Fujico6 He was top 3 for the US at least. Donovan and Cherundolo also had good world cups.

[@MundiaLizm]

What's the song played in this video?

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 When Jermaine Jones loses the ball, Bradley wasn't thinking to mark the man who assisted the second goal. He's thinking to make himself available for the pass. But the way the play progressed after Jones loses it, it really wasn't clear whether the USA or Poland was going to win that ball, so you can't really blame Bradley for not marking the man who assisted the second one.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 You seem to base all your thoughts on how bad you think Bradley is on little moments, but all of the moments that you've pointed out hold Bradley's teammates just as, if not more responsible than him. Not only that, but you've pointed out two goals. TWO. Great argument.

[@ILCapitanoR4E]

Welcome TO AS ROMA

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 The WHOLE TEAM can be accused of playing very lackadaisical defense. Ricardo didn't cover Gerrard on the England goal, DeMerit let Heskey play Gerrard through way to easily, and Onyewu was dragged away from the backline way too easily, leaving space for Gerrard to run through. Bradley has made mistakes, sure, but he's made up for them. In both of those games, Bradley came back to give a stellar effort that helped the team majorly.

[@javiequinones]

hope he can get back to his best level like when he score 18 goals in 1 season

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Also, looking at the goals, the fact that Bradley didn't get his man on England wasn't laziness, it was lack of awareness, which you could accuse the whole defense of. The same on the first and second Slovenia goals and the shot that hit the post against Algeria. That lack of awareness is something that seems to be a problem the USA has early. Notice how Maurice Edu, someone who has good defensive tactical awareness, was starting when the USA didn't concede a goal against Algeria....

[@MundiaLizm]

@Zomxvid So true.

[@JGarcia971amp]

the pass master for the usa

[@macylightfoot]

Hope Galatasary didn't spend too much on his welcome party. He's off to Villa now :)

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 In no way? Are you kidding me? Clark for some strange reason starts moving backwards, probably anticipating, and it makes getting his feet set very difficult. If he's calmer, he can either turn and find Clint Dempsey to his left, Jonathan Bornstein even further left, or if he's confident enough, play one right between Asamoah and Boateng into Donovan. He tries to dribble right around Asamoah and he gets stripped. That's down to Clark's lack of comfort with the ball at his feet.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Another thing: Bradley's mistakes are probably not an issue if he has a better defense behind him. Like I've said before, mistakes like Bradley's are made every day by better players. It's not as big an issue as much of the time because the defense behind them is better. The USA's backline wasn't good at the World Cup apart from Cherundolo, and they were as big a factor in the goals as anyone else.

[@santalicia1]

is good yeah

[@rapidos17]

@BarcaLioMessi I think he looks pretty awsome bald. Michael and Tim Howard pull it off well. Landon Donovan should take note.

[@MundiaLizm]

@TheNearPost Woops, meant to say his goal against Egypt.

[@MundiaLizm]

@souma1476 Agreed. Also, your english is pretty good from what I'm seeing =)

[@bcsautomotive]

Great signing for the Villa Bring on Omar cummings next

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 on those goals. What fourth goal are you talking about anyways? The 2nd Poland goal? You said you didn't blame him for that one anymore. The 2nd Ghana goal was not his fault man. He wasn't the closest man to him and he was still trying to get to him. By the time he did, it was too late.

[@4snarecrash]

my new favorite american player. has gotta helluva motor on him. funny how he has the same look all the time.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 I'm sorry, but the USA had switched to a 4-3-3 in the latter stages of the Ghana game, with Benny Feilhaber on the left of the central midfield. Meaning Benny Feilhaber should have stepped to him, but he didn't. Moreover, videos show Bradley was charging right at him, but couldn't get to him because he was on the COMPLETE other side of the central midfield.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 The simple fact here is that even when you compile all of Bradley's so-called "mistakes", they still don't come close to how many good things he's done. Moreover, you say that Bradley has caused more goals for other teams than his own, but Bradley's not really an attacking player, so it's not even his job to score or help score goals. His distribution indirectly helps score goals, he wouldn't be the first defensive player who has been involved in more goals for the other team than

[@CarloneCarlo]

nicee

[@ThatBoyTLong]

@manustudd7 Well Bob Bradley should be replaced with Maybe Jurgen klinsmann. (I forgot how its spelled). Watch Jose Murinho coach the USA. He actually hinted at it when Real Madrid played LA.

[@MundiaLizm]

Hope you saw him against Italy.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Here's the deal, does Bradley make mistakes? HELL yeah. Does he make up for them, and then some? HELL yeah. Is he wholly to blame for the goals you pointed out? HELL no. As Bradley gets older, the mistakes are going to appear less and less and less, because, let's not forget, he's still only 23 and is just starting to come to the prime of his career.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 No, Bradley did the right thing by keeping him from turning one way, Jermaine Jones didn't apply similar pressure and it let the Pole play the through ball.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 The fact is that as many moments that Bradley may have made mistakes, he made up for in the World Cup. He was involved in two goals against us? Okay, fine. There's a pretty good chance the six tackles he made saved six others. We have no way of knowing that, but you seem to want to focus on all the big moments. Those tackles are big moments. Also, Bradley played 380 minutes and only got caught in possession once - Pretty good for someone who "doesn't know how to play soccer".

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Moreover, you seem to want to blame the WHOLE goal on Bradley, as if he's the only one who made a mistake. On the England goal, Onyewu was out of position, and DeMerit didn't stop Heskey or step in front of him. Clark didn't track the run of Gerrard. On the Ghana goal, Bradley's pass could have been a bit better, no doubt, but Clark still made a complete mess out of it. DeMerit is back peddling, and Howard shouldn't get beat at the near post like that.

[@MundiaLizm]

@Chitownboy1023 Then why the hell is he playing for a club team overseas if no other coach would play him? He's getting consistent minutes for his club team in Europe, something about 75% of American soccer/football players on the national team radar can't say right now.

[@mau21121]

@UNITED7R0NALDO Came on men, USA CERO WORDL CUP or player who became a Legend...... Brazil 5 wc,italy 4wc,germany 3wc,france 2,arg 2, uruguay 2.... Spain , Portugal no wc, but great player like Eusebio,Figo,C.Ronaldo,Raul,Hierro, Di Stefano(born in arg,but played for spain),...... For the respect to this teams and players,you can´t compare

[@Jazztimuzzz]

@TheNearPost Yeah!!! finaly, thats what im saying. if ur going to have bradley playing at least have someone with sum creativity like Torres or Edu playing so they can filter the ball from the midfield, causing a lot more attacking runs. Torres, i think is the most creative player we have on our roster, with the exception of Donovan and Dempsey.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Switzerland? You mean Poland right? And I already explained that instant against Poland. Jones needed to keep that man from turning the same way Bradley did and he didn't. Bradley did his job. Jones didn't. Moreover, Bradley is a great defender. All of the goals against USA that may have been Bradley's fault were other players' fault as well.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 And what do you mean "many" goals? He was partially to blame on England's goal and I suppose he was partially to blame on Ghana's first, but that's about it. Two goals. Even if you were right about the other two, which you're not, then it would be nothing compared to the goals he's stopped with his tackles and the goals he's scored in qualifying, as well as in the world Cup. That amounts to about 12 good things he's done in comparison to the four you point out.

[@kizaola]

why do there cleats always look new?

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Bradley is fine defensively, period

[@mau21121]

@rcfootball10 becouse i didn't knew who was bradley

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Not only that, but why do you think Annan bothered to play the long ball that started Ghana's second goal, anyways, rather than try to control it and pass it to another man? Because he realized Bradley was coming and he wouldn't have had time to bring the ball down. Bradley rushed Annan's thinking in that situation, which is normally good. Moreover, besides the incident on Ghana's first goal, Clark was having a terrible game otherwise. He had been booked and was making poor tackles.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Then maybe you just don't have an eye for the game. Even Arsene Wenger, the coach of Arsenal, while commentating on the USA-England game, said before, after, and during the game that Michael Bradley is a key player on this team and that he does an excellent job stopping the tempo of teams moving the ball through the middle and helps set the tempo with good passing. Also, Ricardo Clark was completely at fault for the goal so I don't know what you're talking about.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Moreover, what about some of the terrible defending, particularly from the center of our defense? I'll say it again - better players have made worse mistakes and they've not led to goals because their backline is good. Ours, outside of Cherundolo was not. Regardless of what you think, Cherundolo was great, and was involved in none of the goals against us.

[@Takablike]

why didnt he play for Villa?

[@fender512]

No clue why Villa didn't play him. Villa needed it.

[@kizaola]

@vashishlv do they get there cleats for free?

[@Efe10]

ye if your dad is the coach you can do anything

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 If Bradley fucked up four times, then he made up for it five times over by making eight tackles(tied for sixth in the whole tournament) and scoring a goal. If you haven't seen him do anything, you clearly haven't been paying attention, because there were clearly tackles to show that he was involved, and in a good way. Even if Bradley did make mistakes on those goals, those "mistakes" happen to much MUCH better players every day. There are bigger mistakes made by other players

[@GREdimitraki12]

@manustudd7 how can u possibly say Bradley cost the US all these goals...u sure u were watching the same team....he has everything that makes up a perfect midfielder(long balls, passing, aggression, good tackles, smart tacticaly). the only person on the US who really made a fool of himself was Ricardo Clark

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Listen, even if Bradley make mistakes here and there, but to be honest, he does more good things than bad. Like the amount of tackles he's made. You still haven't acknowledged them properly. All you've said is that if he didn't make those tackles, other teams would score.....DUH. That's why he makes tackles.

[@Alta2340]

hahahahaha at 3:52 nike blured out the refs adidas...

[@MundiaLizm]

But it wasn't JUST one single game. He's had plenty of excellent performances. Yes, he's had some bad ones, but those are generally outweighed by his good showings. Moreover, this was Italy. Not exactly your Saturday pick-up team. He's definitely at LEAST a good player if he's been performing as well as he has in the Serie A and earning so much praise. I've been keeping an eye on him.

[@Reskilober]

@TheSnoop105 Nobody's as good as Donovan, except arguably Dempsey. Mike's still very good though, one of the "spine" players of the team along with the aforementioned names and a few others along with one of it's best players.

[@MrLuke241]

@mando18 so wot if his head is shaved,doesnt change the way he plays

[@jakesnake341]

@manustudd7 his lack of effort is ridiculously horrible? He ran the most total distance OF ANY PLAYER IN THE WORLD CUP. Respect USA football.

[@lagalang]

Michael has got nice shoes... ( just telling that 'cause ive got them also ) :P

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 Hey! Geuss what!!! More stats!!!! Michael Bradley's clearance completion rating of 67% was higher than anyone else on the team. You may not like my stats, I know. I don't really like em either, but most of your arguments can be countered by stats, like I've said.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 I would also like to see you address the mistakes Bradley's other teammates make before you start criticizing him again.? Holden? Feilhaber? Adu? Feilhaber, Holden, Adu have don't have good defensive awareness so, they're not an improvement and Holden had that bad clearance that led to Poland's first equalizer in the recent friendly The simple fact is that not only is Bradley better at these things than you give him credit for, but there's no one better except for Jones.

[@MundiaLizm]

@Ghazi571 Yeah, should be a good move for Bradley. Better than him staying in Germany for a team that is pretty much relegation-bound.

[@MundiaLizm]

@manustudd7 First Slovenian goal? What about Onyewu not stepping up on the second Slovenian goal? What about Clark's lack of composure on the ball he got from Bradley? What about DeMerit back tracking instead of stepping to Boateng? What about Howard getting beat at the near post? AND WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THE SECOND GHANAIAN GOAL? BRADLEY COULDN'T HAVE STOPPED THE LONG BALL IN TIME!!! THAT WASN'T HIS MAN SO HE WAS NOWHERE NEAR HIM???? WHAT ABOUT POOR DEFENDING FROM BOCANEGRA AND DEMERIT!!??