especially father and son -- certainly will be together Sunday, though they will do it in a most unique way. Michael Bradley is expected to be working -- actually, playing -- for his father Bob -- as the United States takes on Barbados in a World Cup qualifying match.
It is probably the most appropriate place for them to be -- Bob on the sidelines and Michael in the middle of the field at The Home Depot Center.
"Everything I do, the way I talk about soccer and the way I look at it and they way I play, it's come from him," Michael said.
In fact, it many ways, it's like father, like son.
"He and his dad are just alike," said former New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore, who recently transferred to Villarreal (Spain). "Bob's just a bit older than him. On the soccer they're both very intense. They have so much passion for the game. They really just eat, breath and sleep soccer.
"Michael loves the game. He loves talking about it. He loves talking about new ideas. The subject for them never gets old. And it's really refreshing to see that in American players and coaches. I think he's a great kid, has a great head on his shoulders and loves to work hard. What more can you ask?"
Growing up in an athletic family, it was only natural that Michael picked up the game at an early age. One of Michael's uncles, Scott Bradley, played pro baseball for teams such as the New York Yankees. His other uncle, Jeff Bradley, is a sportswriter and currently writes for ESPN The Magazine and writes a column for this website.
Due to his responsibilities as head coach at Princeton University in New Jersey, assistant coach with D.C. United or head coach with the Chicago Fire, Bob could not coach Michael at the youth level, like many fathers have with their sons and daughters.
"He was always around," Michael said. "He would always come and join in training sessions. He would come watch all the games. He would play a lot of times. The different clubs I played for, everybody loved that."
But the 20-year-old Michael had the ultimate personal coach -- his father. No one influenced Michael more as a player.
"The way I look at the game, the way I play, it's all been influenced through things that we experienced together," he said. "I speak to him every day and I always have. I speak to him about training, about the game. Some people ask, 'Do you ever get tired talking about soccer?' No. No. Soccer for us is what we love to do. When I was little, we'd go out and play together, he'd work on things with me. He was always coming to watch my practices, the games. Even now when I'm not physically close to him, he and my mom watch the games on the internet when they can. They watch the highlights. I'll speak to him and we'll talk about the game as though we were sitting next to each other."
Michael has had other influences in his life, including Seton Hall coach Manfred Schellscheidt, also a long-time respected youth coach, former U.S. international and Chicago Fire midfielder Chris Armas and Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch and ex-Polish international midfielder Peter Nowak, now coach of the U.S. Olympic team, on the Fire, among others, Bob said.
"Since Michael's young, he's been around the game," he said. "He's been around good soccer people and good soccer environments. For a young kid growing up in the United States, he has had the experience of being around the game and being around good people."
Bob doesn't like talking about his son the player, leaving it for the media to comment. When he was asked about Michael's development as a player, Bob spoke in general terms.
"There are good starting points, good mentality, good understanding of the game," he said. "A true sense of trying to be a guy to help his team. From there ... it's trying to make steady progress in every situation you're in. Trying to make sure you're called in, you earn the respect of the guys you play with every day. When you get the chances to play, you try to do the things on the field to help your team. That's how it is for all young players."
Two years ago Bob gave Michael some rare public praise after he joined Heerenveen.
"I am happy for him," he said. "To go to a club in Europe and to establish yourself very quickly, earn the respect of the coaches and your teammates, so that you're playing and starting in the most important games of the season, that says a lot.
"For me, it's just with what we saw the last two years, especially last year. He's got a strong mentality, understands the game. He plays well beyond his years. I really felt that last year as the season moved along that he got stronger and stronger. And that's not something you see that often with young players in MLS, especially with ones who are asked to cover that much ground and be a factor in the center of the field, where things are really hard."
Not surprisingly, here has been talk of nepotism. But that has faded every time Michael has made an important contribution for his Dutch club, Heerenveen, or with the U.S. national team.
"I don't get caught up in that," Michael said. "The way I see it, I have to go on the field every training (session) every game and prove myself. That's for myself, that's for the coaches and that's for my teammates. I don't spend any time at all worrying what's being written about me, what's being said about me. It's not something that I worry too much about."
Michael has made 19 appearances for the national side, perhaps none more important against Switzerland when he scored his first international goal in the 86th minute in a 1-0 triumph in Basel Oct. 17, 2007.
When Michael joined the MetroStars in 2004, it obviously raised more than one eyebrow, especially when fans claimed Michael played due to nepotism during Bob's regime. Slowly, but surely Michael improved. Perhaps the defining moment of the 2005 season occurred two weeks after Bob was fired as coach. In a must-win situation to guarantee a playoff berth, Michael scored his first professional first goal -- in his 30th appearance and final game of the regular season -- in a 2-0 victory against Chivas USA.
As an 18-year-old, Michael transferred to Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie in January, 2006, the youngest player in MLS history.
Michael emerged as a key player for Heerenveen. He scored 20 goals in all competitions for the Dutch side, a record for a U.S. player in Europe.
That has been quite surprising since he had forged his reputation as a defensive or holding midfielder, not as someone who could fill the net.
"It's been nice because the movement of our team right (was) good," he said. "I've been able to see the right times to get forward whether it's been coming into the box a little bit late or running harder to get up as one of the first guys."
At the moment, Michael is seeking greener pastures with some other teams in Europe. He is primed for a big summer transfer with some reports linking him to Everton of the English Premiership.
"When I look back on my career, I want to say that I played for big clubs, that I was successful, that I was able to win medals," he said. "That's what I'm trying to do. It's not something I'm worried about or spending a lot of time thinking about it. The minute you start doing that, your performances on the field suffer."
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
