2014 World Cup Analysis
What in the World Is Going On With Michael Bradley?
It's a question that is dominating the U.S. soccer landscape one day after the talismanic midfielder missed an easy goal chance and then turned over the ball that led to Portugal's game-tying goal.
SAO PAOLO—Everybody is allowed to have an off-day every once in a while, and last Monday against Ghana Michael Bradley had his worst game in a long time.
He gave away possession far too easily, completing just 50% of his passes in the attacking third. He missed multiple offensive opportunities—chances that he typically pounces on and that might have given the Americans a bigger lead against a resilient Ghana team. From start to finish, he looked off.
Since the U.S. came away with a 2-1 victory that night, it didn't take much to look the other way and assume that Bradley would step it up against Portugal and resume his place atop the U.S. Player Ratings board.
Only it didn't work out that way.
The 26-year-old midfielder, the consensus most indispensable player on the team, the No. 1 ranked player in the ASN 100 for 18 months straight, made two crucial mistakes in Sunday's 2-2 tie with Portugal.
The first came in the 55th minute: Bradley had a golden opportunity to score what would have been a game-tying goal. Fabian Johnson's delivered one of his many sublime crosses from the right flank. Portugal keeper Beto was out of the picture, having tried—and failed—to stop Johnson's pass.
Alone inside the six-yard box with the ball at his feet and the goal in front of him, all Bradley had to do was tap the Brazuca into the back of the net. But he took a bit too long to do so and a streaking Ricardo Costa slid into the path of Bradley's shot, clearing it off the line.
Groans immediately reverberated around Arena Amazonia.
How did he miss that? Are we ever going to score? What's wrong with Bradley?
In the mixed zone after the match, Bradley rolled his eyes and shook his head thinking about that moment.
"Fabian made a great play getting down the right side and then laid a really good little ball back, and at that point it's just sitting up there and you're really trying to do anything you can to make good contact and hit the target," Bradley said.
"That ball sometimes is an easy one to smash over. So you're trying to put your foot right through it and put it on target... and unfortunately [Costa] made a good play."
Bradley could have put it away. Perhaps he should have put it away. If he moved a bit faster and struck the ball a bit harder it might have changed the course of the contest.
But Monday morning quarterbacking is as dangerous in futbol as it is in football. Had Bradley rushed his shot and missed the target, we would be excoriating him here for lacking composure.
As it turns out, Bradley may have had just a tad too much composure in this moment.
And sometimes you just have to give the other guy credit for making a fantastic play. Costa, a fill-in for suspended central defender Pepe, certainly stepped up in a crucial moment and justified his role in the starting unit.
THE BIGGER PLAY, the one that is generating the most vitriol in online comments sections and all over the Internet, is Bradley's giveaway in stoppage time, which led to Silvestre Varela's game-tying goal.
There's a tremendously detailed breakdown of the play here, and you should check it out before you continue on.
Here are the facts: With the United States ahead of Portugal with less than a minute to go in extra time, the ball fell to Bradley in the Portuguese half of the field. If Bradley would have controlled the ball perfectly, he would have had time to assess his options and pass the ball to a teammate or boot it down the field to waste more time.
Only he didn't control the ball perfectly. It was a messy first touch, and that led to the turnover.
A great touch, and the game is likely over. A good touch, same result. But in this one moment, the ball got away from the American midfielder, allowing Portugal to converge on Bradley, dispossess him, and start a counterattack.
After the match, Bradley gave his thoughts on the play.
"The ball popped up, and I was able to make a few quick steps and get there," he said. "It was tight, and unfortunately I wasn't able to make a good enough play to keep it for us or get a foul. At that point, the ball turns over and it's up to us to deal with the situation."
The U.S. didn't deal with the situation, of course. There were too many players too far forward, considering the circumstances. DaMarcus Beasley couldn't keep up with Ronaldo on the right wing, and three centrally positioned Americans couldn't get their heads on the cross.
"Certainly, the way it ends, you rack your mind thinking, 'Can you do this better, can you do that better?'" Bradley said. "But the reality is still that, over the course of a game, there's a million of these kind of plays and you can't let these plays—they go on in the course of a game and there's nothing else to it."
Bradley didn't duck questions about the sequence, but he didn't beat himself up over it either—at least not publicly.
"I put my heart and soul into every game, every time I step on the field. I'm proud of that and proud every time I play, and there are certainly no regrets in my book.
"When it ends the way it did, there's always going to be a certain amount of disappointment, but we have no choice but to look at the positives and now regroup and get ready for another big game on Thursday."
Jurgen Klinsmann didn't blame Bradley for reversal of fortune either.
"In that moment, I think Michael Bradley got caught in the middle of three or four guys and lost the ball, unfortunately," the coach said. "Then the counter break comes and even if we had in this moment three center backs on the field, we were not able to get to that cross, which was a beautiful cross and so they finished it off."
Let's be clear about something: Michael Bradley did not have a bad game. He sparkled defensively and contributed offensively throughout the 95-minute contest. Over the course of any match, even the best players are going to have a miscue or two. It just so happens that against Portugal, Bradley's two worst moments came on high-profile plays that changed the course of the game.
Subpar moments, yes. Bad game? No way.
His Ghana showing was a true clunker, and worthy of concern. Against Portugal, he played very well—except for the two moments when we all expected him to be his usual, nearly faultless self. Instead, he was all too human.
“Crazy game," Bradley said. "We put so much into it. I thought after a difficult start, the response and the commitment and the effort was incredible.
"Every guy left everything on the field. We’re obviously disappointed not to close it out. We didn’t come away with three points but we have no choice but to keep going. It’s a short turnaround and we’ll get ourselves ready for another game on Thursday and just keep going from there.”
"Very cruel game sometimes."
John Godfrey is the founder and editor in chief of American Soccer Now. He wants to know what you think of Bradley's first two matches in this World Cup, and what you think about this column.
The 26-year-old midfielder, the consensus most indispensable player on the team, the No. 1 ranked player in the ASN 100 for 18 months straight, made two crucial mistakes in Sunday's 2-2 tie with Portugal.
The first came in the 55th minute: Bradley had a golden opportunity to score what would have been a game-tying goal. Fabian Johnson's delivered one of his many sublime crosses from the right flank. Portugal keeper Beto was out of the picture, having tried—and failed—to stop Johnson's pass.
Alone inside the six-yard box with the ball at his feet and the goal in front of him, all Bradley had to do was tap the Brazuca into the back of the net. But he took a bit too long to do so and a streaking Ricardo Costa slid into the path of Bradley's shot, clearing it off the line.
Groans immediately reverberated around Arena Amazonia.
How did he miss that? Are we ever going to score? What's wrong with Bradley?
In the mixed zone after the match, Bradley rolled his eyes and shook his head thinking about that moment.
"Fabian made a great play getting down the right side and then laid a really good little ball back, and at that point it's just sitting up there and you're really trying to do anything you can to make good contact and hit the target," Bradley said.
"That ball sometimes is an easy one to smash over. So you're trying to put your foot right through it and put it on target... and unfortunately [Costa] made a good play."
Bradley could have put it away. Perhaps he should have put it away. If he moved a bit faster and struck the ball a bit harder it might have changed the course of the contest.
But Monday morning quarterbacking is as dangerous in futbol as it is in football. Had Bradley rushed his shot and missed the target, we would be excoriating him here for lacking composure.
As it turns out, Bradley may have had just a tad too much composure in this moment.
And sometimes you just have to give the other guy credit for making a fantastic play. Costa, a fill-in for suspended central defender Pepe, certainly stepped up in a crucial moment and justified his role in the starting unit.
THE BIGGER PLAY, the one that is generating the most vitriol in online comments sections and all over the Internet, is Bradley's giveaway in stoppage time, which led to Silvestre Varela's game-tying goal.
There's a tremendously detailed breakdown of the play here, and you should check it out before you continue on.
Here are the facts: With the United States ahead of Portugal with less than a minute to go in extra time, the ball fell to Bradley in the Portuguese half of the field. If Bradley would have controlled the ball perfectly, he would have had time to assess his options and pass the ball to a teammate or boot it down the field to waste more time.
Only he didn't control the ball perfectly. It was a messy first touch, and that led to the turnover.
A great touch, and the game is likely over. A good touch, same result. But in this one moment, the ball got away from the American midfielder, allowing Portugal to converge on Bradley, dispossess him, and start a counterattack.
After the match, Bradley gave his thoughts on the play.
"The ball popped up, and I was able to make a few quick steps and get there," he said. "It was tight, and unfortunately I wasn't able to make a good enough play to keep it for us or get a foul. At that point, the ball turns over and it's up to us to deal with the situation."
The U.S. didn't deal with the situation, of course. There were too many players too far forward, considering the circumstances. DaMarcus Beasley couldn't keep up with Ronaldo on the right wing, and three centrally positioned Americans couldn't get their heads on the cross.
"Certainly, the way it ends, you rack your mind thinking, 'Can you do this better, can you do that better?'" Bradley said. "But the reality is still that, over the course of a game, there's a million of these kind of plays and you can't let these plays—they go on in the course of a game and there's nothing else to it."
Bradley didn't duck questions about the sequence, but he didn't beat himself up over it either—at least not publicly.
"I put my heart and soul into every game, every time I step on the field. I'm proud of that and proud every time I play, and there are certainly no regrets in my book.
"When it ends the way it did, there's always going to be a certain amount of disappointment, but we have no choice but to look at the positives and now regroup and get ready for another big game on Thursday."
Jurgen Klinsmann didn't blame Bradley for reversal of fortune either.
"In that moment, I think Michael Bradley got caught in the middle of three or four guys and lost the ball, unfortunately," the coach said. "Then the counter break comes and even if we had in this moment three center backs on the field, we were not able to get to that cross, which was a beautiful cross and so they finished it off."
Let's be clear about something: Michael Bradley did not have a bad game. He sparkled defensively and contributed offensively throughout the 95-minute contest. Over the course of any match, even the best players are going to have a miscue or two. It just so happens that against Portugal, Bradley's two worst moments came on high-profile plays that changed the course of the game.
Subpar moments, yes. Bad game? No way.
His Ghana showing was a true clunker, and worthy of concern. Against Portugal, he played very well—except for the two moments when we all expected him to be his usual, nearly faultless self. Instead, he was all too human.
“Crazy game," Bradley said. "We put so much into it. I thought after a difficult start, the response and the commitment and the effort was incredible.
"Every guy left everything on the field. We’re obviously disappointed not to close it out. We didn’t come away with three points but we have no choice but to keep going. It’s a short turnaround and we’ll get ourselves ready for another game on Thursday and just keep going from there.”
"Very cruel game sometimes."
John Godfrey is the founder and editor in chief of American Soccer Now. He wants to know what you think of Bradley's first two matches in this World Cup, and what you think about this column.
