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Michael Bradley to Moenchengladbach

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                                                Photo by ISIphotos.com

Michael Bradley has agreed to terms with Borussia Moenchengladbach after the German club agreed to a transfer with Dutch club Heerenveen on Saturday, New York-based agent Ron Waxman confirmed with SBI this morning. Bradley and Moenchengladbach agreed to terms on Sunday morning. The amount of the transfer has not been disclosed.

Bradley had been linked to a variety of European clubs, including Hamburg, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and AS Monaco, but Monchengladbach swooped in with a late move for the 21-year-old central midfielder.

Bradley leaves Heerenveen after two seasons following a $100,000 transfer from the New York Red Bulls following the 2005 MLS season. According to sources with knowledge of that transfer, MLS is due to receive twenty percent of the fee Heerenveen received from Moenchengladbah. That also means the Red Bulls are due to receive a portion of that transfer fee.

Bradley joins the newly-promoted Bundesliga squad that features Canadian striker Rob Friend, who was Bradley’s teammate at Heerenveen during the 2006-2007 season.

He won’t be the first American to ply his trade at Moenchengladbach. Long-time U.S. national team goalkeeper Kasey Keller spent two seasons with the club, serving as captain in the 2006/2007 season.

It’s poll time.

What do you think of the news? Is Moenchengladbach a good landing spot for Bradley? How do you think he will do in the Bundesliga? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. multifutbol on justin.tv… its a collection of all the games going on at the moment in la liga. they just randomly switch to a different game… kinda annoying but the best I could find for now..

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  2. If he gets first team minutes, this is a good move.

    Let’s be realistic folks, he did not do to much to sell himself over the summer, so this is a not a surprising spot. I’d rather see him playing, then find him languishing on the bench at a Boro or Leverkusen. If he makes the best out this his big move will come.

    I’d would have rather seen him one more year at H’veen, the little dutch club kinda found a place in my heart last year.

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  3. Well, use your browser’s history (or your “closed tabs” history if you use Firefox), and figure out the direct link. Because believe me, if you found a Villareal stream, there are a whole bunch of people who would love to know where it is…

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  4. I swear I had one. I was watching and waiting to see if Jozy was out there but decided to just check soccernet.com and see if they listed him on the bench or starting. They didnt show him listed at all so I closed the windows and took my lunch break. Now I come back and he’s listed as the first substitution. I’m looking for it again but most of the games are at halftime and there are commercials showing.

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  5. If you have a working stream, let everyone know. Because the rest of U.S. soccer fandom has been unable to find one.

    ESPN’s international feed decided to show the Atletico Madrid game instead of the scheduled Villareal match. What you watched at Justin.tv was that Madrid game, not Villareal.

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  6. Adu hardly plays, Edu sits, Beasley doesn’t make the bench, Howard allows three goals, Altidore is unlikely to see the pitch, and Bradley transfers to a low-profile German side.

    Disappointing Yanks Abroad weekend all around.

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  7. Seriously?

    This is a step up from Heerenveen, which will be competing for another Europe spot and also participating in the UEFA Cup?

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  8. I really like the move. The Bundesliga is a better destination for a young player than the Premiership, and the quality top to bottom is just as good. Less TV & endorsements, but the quality of German soccer is first rate.

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  9. I just hope RBNY actually does get part of the sell on clause as promised. However, I have a fear MLS will say it sets a bad precedent and keep any transfer fee.

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  10. Ives I was waiting for a post from you this morning because I saw that Bradley wasn’t included in the Heerenveen squad today. Good deal for Bradley.

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  11. Anybody think he’s going to be scoring a ton of goals at Monchengladbach like he did at Heerenveen? I say he doesn’t even post 10.

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  12. I’m right with Nathan on the plusses of BMG. Every home game is 50,000+ in the stands, great atmosphere and you can’t complain about the quality of the league.

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  13. I think this is a smart move. He’ll continue to get playing time and continue to develop. I never expected him to go to a big club, because he’s just not ready yet. He’s a very immature player whom loses the ball too much. Contrast him to Maurice Edu, whom is closer to the finished product. (obviously I never learned when to use who and whom lol)

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  14. I watched the BMG-Werder Bremen match yesterday morning on GOLtv, BMG won 3-2. Great match.

    The player that really stood out was Alexander Baumjohann, who will most likely be Bradley’s partner in the midfield.

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  15. Monchengladbach is a fanatically supported club in the best attended league in Europe. It is a high standard of play with weekly high pressure. What is the problem? I love the idea the going to play for Boro in the often half-empty Riverside would have been a glorious step up.

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  16. Eh, we all don’t have to take a dump on Mochenblach here… They’re a mid table German side. I like the move, he’ll be playing against better players than he would have at Heereven.

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  17. i’ve been checking twice daily to see where this kid goes, and this is the payoff? not everton? not even ‘boro? i don’t care what kind of positive spin you wanna put, this sucks. not a good outcome for the fans.

    i just hope gooch goes to england, against the rumors. maybe liverpool swoops for him, they should have a new respect for him now.

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  18. Now what about Gooch? Is he off to France or Spain or Italy? And is Heath Pearce moving to Borussia Dortmund? What about Sacha Klejstan to Twente?

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  19. How much will Bradley be making at the club? I know Brad Friedel hit a goldmine with Aston Villa, he makes £50,000 a week, double what he was making at Blackburn. Must be the highest paid American abroad besides Tim Howard.

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  20. Well if Bradley can play decent and get some well needed experience, sooner or later he will move on up to Bayern Munich or Stuggart or to Everton in the Premier League. Good luck.

    What was the transfer fee? Hope he is getting some good cash.

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  21. I think this is a great move for Bradley. After watching them play Werder Bremen yesterday, this is a solid young team that will be exciting to watch play in the Bundesliga this season. With the talent they have assembled they stand a great chance of staying up this year and becoming a challenger in years to come. He should be a staple of that team and will have a chance to shine and make a bigger move when the time comes …. but he should see plenty of action on the field now which is what he needs in a top tier league.

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  22. I think it’s a good place for him because he’ll definitely be getting playing time, but I think Germany will give him an opportunity to be a more well rounded CM…a link midfielder if you will. Plus he’ll face a lot of good competition in this league

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  23. Good move if they can stay in the first league and not pull a Derby. They seem to have some good young players that will keep them out of relegation and at least we will get to see Bradley on the tube a little more often.

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  24. I’m all for him going to the Bundesliga but Borussia Monchengladbach? I was expecting Werder Bremen or Hamburg? Borussia Monchengladbach is going to be flirting with relegation all season.

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  25. It’s not the sexy choice but remember Michael Bradley is still young and this move could be his his stepping stone to the “big club.” Bradley is still a work in progress and playing at a mid level German team will allow him to progress. The prem is a bit risky since most teams want finished products. At least I be able to catch a game on goltv now and then.

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  26. Movin’ on up… I would prefer that Bradley move to a mid-level side that can contend for UEFA or even CL action (and his play for Heerenveen certainly warrants as much), but as a US fan I applaud the move. He has a better chance of starting and while the Bundesliga isn’t the Premier League, it’s no slouch, either.

    Congrats, Michael. Give ’em hell!

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  27. No way. What happened to Hamburg or Bayer Leverkausen or Middlesbrough or Everton? Well at least we know he will be a first team starter.

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  28. good move for him. staying close to holland will limit the “culture clash” if he movced to say france or england. Will guarantee first team action every week in Germany. In Holland he picked up the offensive part of his game, here’s hoping Germany will give him that defensive mentality of when to use his ultra-aggresion and when to tone it down and become a true holding midfield player, a la Torsten Frings

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