Michael Bradley

Michael Sheehan Bradley (born July 31, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player who is currently an assistant coach at Norwegian club Stabæk.

Michael spent his teenage years in Palatine, Illinois while his father coached the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer (MLS), and he grew up playing for Sockers FC, who went to the 2002 National Championships and finished third.

He later attended the United States Under-17 Men's National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida – the dedicated facility for the training of the under-17 national team – for four semesters, from 2002 to 2004.

As a child, he idolized Roy Keane, the Manchester United and Republic of Ireland midfielder.

The son of soccer coach Bob Bradley, Michael began his professional career in Major League Soccer with the MetroStars in 2004.

He then spent several years in Europe, playing in the Dutch Eredivisie with Heerenveen, German Bundesliga with Borussia Mönchengladbach, English Premier League with Aston Villa, and Italian Serie A with both Chievo and Roma.

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 30 out of 32 matches for the Metro.

Just weeks after his father was fired as the club's coach, he headed in his first professional goal in a victory over Chivas USA on the last day of the 2005 season, sending the team to the playoffs.

A former captain of the United States national team, Bradley made over 150 international appearances between his senior debut in 2006 and 2019.

He was selected to the squad for several major tournaments, including five CONCACAF Gold Cups and two FIFA World Cups, winning two of the former.

In January 2006, Bradley became the youngest MLS player to ever be sold when he was transferred to Heerenveen for $250,000 and a portion of any sell-on fee His first start for the Dutch club came on April 16, 2006, in a match against AZ.

He found success early, earning five 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 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 eighteen, with sixteen league goals.

On August 31, 2008, Bradley signed a four-year deal with Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach for an undisclosed fee.

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.

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.

He was also a member of the sides that finished runners-up at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and reached the semi-finals of the Copa América Centenario.

Early in the 2009–10 season, Bradley was briefly suspended after an 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.

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 against 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 declined to extend his contract.

He made only three Premier League appearances and one FA Cup appearance.

Bradley joined Italian Serie A club Chievo on August 31, 2011.

He made his Chievo debut on September 18, coming on in the second half for Paolo Sammarco.

He has been nicknamed "The General" by the local fans.

Bradley scored his first goal in Italian soccer in a 3–2 victory over Catania on April 7 to take his side up to ninth in the league standings.

On July 16, 2012, Bradley joined Roma, signing a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €3.75 million.

The following day, he made his debut for Roma as a starter in a 2–1 pre-season victory against Austrian Bundesliga club Rapid Wien, going head-to-head with fellow U.S. international Terrence Boyd.

He returned to MLS with Toronto FC in 2014, making over 300 total appearances and lifting the MLS Cup as captain in 2017, before retiring with the club in 2023.

Bradley was born in Princeton, New Jersey, son to Bob Bradley, former coach of the United States national team and Los Angeles FC.

While his father was the head soccer coach at Princeton University, the family lived in Pennington, New Jersey.