U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder and captain Michael Bradley has been named U.S. Player of the Year for 2015, his first time taking home the award.
The 28-year old Bradley beat out fellow Toronto FC teammate Jozy Altidore and three-time Player of the Year recipient Clint Dempsey. The TFC man captured 39 first-place votes and 176 points, while Dempsey managed 33 firsts and 145 points. Altidore finished third with nine first-place votes and 70 points.
According to the voting system, a player receives three points for a first-place vote, two points for second-place, and a single point for each third-place tally.
Bradley appeared in 18 matches this year for the Americans, recording three goals and six assists. In addition to his success with the national side, the veteran was also a key contributor for TFC, guiding the Canadian club to the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in team history.
Before coming back to Major League Soccer, Bradley spent time with Heerenveen in Holland, the Bundesliga’s Borussia Monchengladbach and Serie A sides Chievo and Roma. While with Monchengladbach, Bradley spent time in England with Aston Villa on a loan deal. He got his professional start with original MLS side New York/New Jersey MetroStars, who later evolved into the current New York Red Bulls.
U.S. Soccer will announce its Male Player of the Year award next week.
The US player pool has so many good players, we should at least make the quarterfinals in every World Cup. Put Sigi Schmid in charge instead of Klinsmann and we’ll win way more games.
What a rip-off. Fabian Johnson should have gotten the award by a sizable margin.
What a joke… We sucked this year so Bradley wins cause he sucks the least? Im not sure if this is a male only award but if it isn’t then Lloyd should have got it. She received far more recognition than Bradley ever did.
Bradley, Dempsey are on the back side of the mountain with their careers
I love MB but tough to see this one. Until he is regularly deployed where he is best suited for the USMNT, which doesn’t happen very often over the past couple of years, that may continue
interestingly, about the best I saw him play under Klinsmann was against Germany when JK actually played that flat 4-4-2 and Mikey was where he prefers to be with the field in front of him, and he played well
the same could be said for many players regarding where they are deployed, or not deployed
wow….Seriously what has Bradley done? You can’t even compare him with Fabian Johnson or Tim Howard (absence and all) or Brad Guzan or Clint Dempsey
He hasn’t done anything for Toronto FC
He hasn’t done anything for the USMNT
and He gets US Player of the year
I guess only in US Soccer…..congrats Mikey
Yea, I know when the World Cup was. I was trying to emphasize how poor of an impression this Team made on me this year. The only good memories and performance were from the WC. None of the players have made any impact this year for either Club or Country except for Fabian Johnson.
Problem is Fabian didn’t do all that much in a US shirt this year. It was just a bad year and Bradley had never won it, so who cares.
Fabian Johnson, Tim Howard and Jermaine Jones are more deserving of this award. Mr. Bradley’s performances were marked ‘present without impact’ during the calendar year 2015. Also, Tim Howard’s performance during the World Cup was sufficient to garner this award.
this is a hack job. Why the he** wasnt this lloyd?
Another perspective on Giovinco’s success is that while his skills made him adequate in Europe, in MLS that skill level makes him a comparative superstar!
Giovinco was well above “adiquate” in Europe.
And come to think of it, Lampard was doing pretty damn well in the EPL and then was a disappointment in MLS, does that mean MLS is better than the EPL using your logic?
No, of course not, but don’t be so hard on some guys who found it a bit harder being the target of their MLS opponents coaching plans as compared to sliding under the radar for that stuff in Europe.
What did Brady do? He didn’t have a good GC, he was below average for his club team. He wasn’t a commanding force for all them friendlies. Did they just draw straws?
When that severe misunderstanding alridore is a contender for player of the year, you don’t need further proof that it has been a horrible year for US soccer.
As for Bradley…Noone in their right mind leaves AS Roma to go to Toronto. Regardless of the paycheck.
Oh they finally came out with the 2013 award? Congrats Michael you deserved it!
Can we then attribute a pick-up in Giovinco’s level of play to MLS or does MLS only get blamed for things?
Bradley, Dempsey and Altidore….moving to MLS has meant moving into obscurity….
It always amazed me how Donovan was able to keep his level of play consistently higher than the league he played in. It’s so easy to settle near the level of your competition.
I don’t think we can blame MLS for the perceived drop off. Altidore has been absolutely horrible in club play since moving to Sunderland two years before he came to MLS. Dempsey is simply at that age where a lot of footballers experience a drop off.
Of the three, I think only Bradley has experienced a noticable decline and I’m not sure we can attribute that to MLS.
I don’t really even see much of a drop off for Dempsey. He scored 9 goals for the US this year, most ever for him actually. Last year had a solid World Cup.Yes, he had a bad match against Mexico but he’s never scored against Mexico and never played all that well against them.
I think Bradley was just built up by many to be better then he perhaps ever was. He’s a solid box to box midfielder that can compliment move the ball off the back line to the more creative players. That was his job at Roma and when he’s been at his best for the US.
Jozy has been streaky his entire career. He tends to pull himself together before World Cups in qualifying as 2009 and 2013 have been by far his best years for the US. Is there a connection? I don’t know.
2011 wasn’t a great year either (probably worse) for many of these same guys and they were in Europe at the time. We tend to have a bit of a World Cup hangover year.
It’s only because his father is the coach.
lol!
wat
Should have been Dempsey, Gold Boot at the Gold Cup, however there’s a good case against all of them
I wouldve given it to Jordan Morris.
Lame.
love bradley but this is a ridiculous.
How Sebastian led Toronto this year. He wasn’t a stand out player in any of the USA games this year.I would give it to Fabian Johnson or Guzan if anybody
What a sham, did he win this award by default? In a bad year for the USMNT I cant really think of what MB did to deserve this other then being a notable name.
Yeah, sorry. Nobody in the USMNT pool deserved it this year.
I’d propose awarding Klinsmann the Brass Bedpan, though.