After a month with the United States national team Michael Bradley has been back with TFC for a couple of weeks now and The General likes what he sees.
“It’s been great. I’m excited to be back with the group, to see some old faces and see the new guys integrate themselves into the group,” said Bradley at the team’s hotel in Orlando on Thursday.
“Everybody feels good about the way things are coming together and that excitement will only build as we get closer to the season.”
2015 was a big year for Bradley. The 28-year-old was named captain of Toronto FC in February and the U.S. national team six months later.
“It’s an incredible honour to be captain of a club like this, to represent this city, and many of those feelings in terms of pride and responsibility are the exact same for the national team,” said Bradley. “To be able to represent your club and your country as captain is a dream come true. On any team that I’ve ever been on I’ve never been afraid to take responsibility. That part of me will never change and it’s a challenge I look forward to everyday.”
Bradley spoke of a leadership council when he was named captain of the Reds. A group of players that would shepherd the team through the grind of a MLS season. The acquisitions of Clint Irwin, Will Johnson, Steven Beitashour and Drew Moor have been a major addition in that regard.
“On any good team you want guys with personality that aren’t afraid to speak up and guys, when big moments come, know who they are,” stated Bradley. “We had the beginnings of that last year and to add guys like Clint, Will, Steven and Drew, our core group gets bigger, gets stronger.”
In some ways the club added another Bradley in Johnson. A player that is known for an unrelenting motor and a desire to win at all costs. The pair grew up together in the suburbs of Chicago and will be reunited in the Toronto midfield.
“He’s a guy that’s proven himself over a lot of years in the league in terms of being a guy that competes, works, and gives so much to his team,” said Bradley. “There’s no greater compliment than that. To have another guy who we can count on in those ways is really important. He and I have a good relationship going back a lot of years.”
With the preseason winding down and final preparations for opening day beginning to formulize, thoughts of the home opener at BMO Field, a BMO Field that hardly resembles the place where it all began 10 years ago, are hard to bury. A daunting road trip is in the way, but that only makes what lies ahead more significant for Bradley.
“A stadium becomes so symbolic for a club. When we see pictures of the work that’s going on at BMO Field, it’s going to be a home stadium that fits us, that fits the city and fits the people who we represent, the fans,” said Bradley.
“The first eight games we know will be a challenge in terms of making sure we can find ways to come away with results in difficult environments against good teams, but the reward at the end is that we’re going to get to come home to a beautiful stadium. There’s no greater motivation than that.”
Throughout the preseason I’ve been asking players what their personal goals are for 2016. It’s a big year for Bradley, with TFC among the group of contenders looking to make waves in the Eastern Conference and the U.S competing in the Copa America Centenario. For Bradley, the goal is straightforward.
“I’m at a point in my career where who I am, how good I am and what I’m defined as ultimately comes down to how successful we are as a team.”
The journey to that goal begins in earnest on March 6 at Red Bull Arena.
