Heading into his age-33 season, Toronto FC's Michael Bradley is still one of the top players in MLS at his position. Ahead of his first year on the sidelines for the Reds, however, Toronto head coach Chris Armas has goals for his veteran stalwart in 2021 that go beyond just maintaining his current level.
Specifically, Armas said his vision for his first year coaching the veteran midfielder involves Bradley getting back involved in the attack with greater frequency — a part of his game that has leveled off in recent seasons. Bradley has scored three goals in his last four MLS campaigns, all of which came in 2019. While he's put up a respectable 11 assists over that same time, Armas said he envisions Bradley getting on the scoresheet more often this season, be it through goals or assists, and that he's challenged his captain to do exactly that.
“When I see him chip the goalkeeper in training and find Jozy \[Altidore\] on the move and link up with \[Alejandro\] Pozuelo and \[Jonathan\] Osorio, you understand that, ‘Hey, what about having you in the final third a bit more?’" Armas said via Steve Buffery of The Toronto Sun. "And now against the ball [defensively], out of possession, I say, ‘Mike, similarly, can you come away with more tackles? You’re so intelligent reading the game, how many more interceptions [can you get]?’ These are quantifiable.
"Not only is he intelligent to know where to be defensively, he actually covers the most ground every day in training and he’s probably the fittest guy," he continued. "He takes care of himself, he’s a pro, he’s intelligent, he’s up for the challenge of covering the ground, coming away with more tackles and not just being in a tackle, but winning the tackle and duel. Being more of a presence in aerial duels. This is the demand for the top 6s in the world and Michael is one of them in my opinion. On the outside I’m not so sure people truly appreciate the job that he does and what he means for a team that he plays on, with and without the ball. We’re fortunate to have his services, I’ll tell you that much.”
Bradley's best season for Toronto in terms of attacking output came in 2015, when he scored a career-high five goals and six assists in 25 games.
The longtime US men's national team stalwart said that he still understands that much of his responsibility will remain similar to previous years in terms of his role as a defensive shield and string-puller from a deeper-lying role. But Bradley said that his impression from his discussions with Armas is that he'll indeed be tasked with providing more of a two-way threat — a challenge he says he's welcoming during preseason.
“Over the last handful of years, the way that we played and what Greg wanted from me meant … to give the team balance and to really protect that area in front of the center backs and to really make sure that the foundation was strong at that part of the field, both when we had the ball and didn’t have the ball,” Bradley said.
“And one of the things that [Armas] talked about for me is to get back to a little bit more of what I was years ago, whether it was the national team or some of the earlier years at TFC. Sure, I have defensive responsibilities, that part’s never going away. But [add to] my ability to cover ground and move with the game and be more of a real two-way presence and help us find rhythm and flow and drive us forward, to help us be aggressive when balls turn over, to counter-press and go after the ball and close things down and come away with important tackles and recovers and interceptions. It’s a fun challenge.”
