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Bradley ready for the German challenge

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                                                   Photo by ISIphotos.com

Michael Bradley knew it wouldn’t be easy.

He was fully aware that being a 21-year-old newcomer to a struggling German Bundesliga club already a few weeks into its season would not make for the easiest transition, but he is far from being discouraged by the fact that he did not play in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s most recent two matches, a pair of losses that led to the firing of the club’s manager, Jos Luhukay.

"I walked into the whole situation a little bit late. I missed the whole preseason and came into the club after three games," Bradley told SBI after Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Cuba. "The start hadn’t been great and it continued a little bit and the last straw was when we lost to Cologne. They made (the coaching) change then."

"I’m just looking forward now to getting back there and try to establish myself in the team and the league and help us turn it around," Bradley said. "It’s going to be a good challenge but it’s something I’m really looking forward to."

Bradley has started in one of three league games since joining the club via transfer from Dutch club Heerenveen, but he stands a good chance of playing upon his return now that the club is in the hands of interim head coach Christian Ziege, the club’s sporting director and the man who orchestrated the signing of Bradley.

"People are so quick sometimes to judge," Bradley said of the notion that he’s struggling in Germany. "I got there and we lost 5-1 to Hannover. I played the next week against Hertha Berlin. I have not played at Hamburg away and Cologne at home.

"Missing the preseason and missing the beginning of the season and going into a new team is not easy," Bradley said. "Wherever I went I was going to have to go in and be a little bit patient and wait for my chance to come.

"My head’s not down because now I haven’t played for two weeks," Bradley said. "I’m confident I’m a guy who can really help that team and can really be a good player in that league."

"Whether it’s this week, next week or in a month, I’m ready to show everybody what I can do."

Bradley joined Moenchengladbach on a transfer from Dutch club Heerenveen, where he scored 19 goals in all competitions last season. When he was signed by Moenchengladbach he was projected to step right in and start, so when he started against Hertha Berlin after just one week with the club that appeared to be the case, but Luhukay benched him for the next two games before being fired.

With a new interim coach in place, and some more time to acclimate himself to the club, Bradley is confident that he will return from the international break and work toward getting back on the field for Moenchengladbach.

"I just keep working every day to show the people at the club that I’m a guy who should be on the field every week," Bradley said. "Sometimes that could take a few days. Sometimes it takes a little longer. That’s my challenge now but I don’t think they would have brought me to the club if they didn’t think I could really help them. Now it’s on me to show them that I can."

Comments

  1. Ives,

    I think this is a good time as ever to say that I appreciate your website to the point that its a daily must read (together with Goff’s). Thanks, and keep it up!

    Reply
  2. I am really looking forward to him getting better and not continually worse. He has been the weakest link on the nats for 18 months now -unless EJ was on the pitch of course.

    My prediction for his future: Think Joey Franchino.

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  3. While we’re at it… Ives, how about adding in you bio what your credentials are, how you got into soccer, etc. Just curious to know.

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  4. I added it after someone else asked the same question Mig. I’m not big on tooting my own horn on the site. I’ve tried to cut it down. I see it done elsewhere, and used to do it more here, and I think if you do it too much it comes off as cheesy. That’s just my opinion.

    Also, any lengthy interviews that run on SBI are interviews that I have done. Taking quotes from other sources without attribution is more a European thing than an American thing (although it appears some Americans are starting to learn that shady practice. I’ll be sure to clarify in the future though so people know it was an SBI interview.

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  5. Then Hell, Ives…be fatheaded in your post and say “Hrrrumph…when I interviewed US star Michael Bradley in DC after the Cuba match….” A little tooting your own horn is good for you, man.

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  6. milkshake, that’s actually a good point. I always like to know the source of the interview, whether newspaper, website, or tv show. When some of the very suspect English press start parsing quotes to achieve maximum effect, it’s good to be able to qualify the resulting statements.

    Ives, I’m not saying ANYTHING bad about reporting the quotes, I’m just curious if it was your interview or if not, from whence it came. It’s good to report on it in any case!

    Cheers,

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  7. Ives, did you conduct this interview or was it poached from US Soccer or another source? If you conducted the interview, say where and when and take the credit you deserve.

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  8. great article Ives. As always much appreciated. your blog is top notch.

    On a complete aside, do you know where andrea canales will be writing now that she has left espn ?

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  9. No worries Nick, we’re all good.

    And Brett, I don’t mind people spotting errors, I would much rather hear about them and correct them. What can be a bit troubling is when anybody gets an attitude about me making mistakes. Writers make mistakes.

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  10. i could understand wrong score lines, or even wrong team names (as previous thread pointed out), or even wrong picture (an issue that fannation has), but simple grammatical errors seems pointless on pointing out…

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  11. Nick, all I’m saying is that I make corrections all the time when readers find them. I have no problem with that. Your initial comment offered up nothing, just criticism, that’s why it came off badly.

    And it was your IP address that came up as never having commented before, not your email address. That’s why I thought you were some new Nick G so my bad.

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  12. Ives, this wasn’t my first ever comment on the site. I just used a different email address this time than the one I used to use.

    I’ve even gotten 2nd place in your YWTC contest before.

    If you go back, you’ll find plenty of positive, supportive posts by Nick G. in the past about your writing. Just thought it should be pointed out this time…sorry I won’t point out mistakes ever again.

    I did send you an email with the 3 typo-es I saw (which one turned out not to be a type-o so my bad)

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  13. MB’s situation so far is frighteningly similar to Bennie’s last year. They’re different types of players – Bennie’s more of a finesse player – a highly skilled passer and possessor of the ball, while MB is a higher energy defender and tackler who can sneak into the attack effectively so maybe that helps him escape the doghouse.

    Remember, though, Bennie appeared to be saying all the right things to the media as well, he was playing for a newly promoted club, and he also went through multiple coaching changes. What is happening in Europe that every American seems to be stuck on a club that fires their manager 3-4 times per year???

    I wonder if MB’s first touch is what’s holding him back.

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  14. Thanks Scott, I appreciate that. I make mistakes and correct them when they are pointed out. That’s one typo. Still waiting for the “so many” that “Nick G” suggested. I guess I should have known better than to trust someone making that comment their first-ever comment on the site. Ah well. We move on.

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  15. some people have too much time and care about the smallest of details… just enjoy the interview and grow with the knowledge that one of our top prospects recognizes the challenges ahead and aims to take them head on…. who cares about typos…

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  16. Ives, in Bradley’s quote: “I have not play at Hamburg away and Cologne at home.”

    But maybe that’s what he said. No biggie either way

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  17. there is worst thing in life then typos for y’all to complain about. I’m sure Ives won’t never do it again. Nwo that yuo brought it up.

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  18. Can somebody please tell me what the typos are? I’ll be the first to agree that the lead paragraph isn’t the most well-written thing ever but I’m still a but puzzled about typo claims.

    Anybody care to help me out?

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  19. For me, proof of Ives’s professionalism is the effort he puts in to track down stories, confirm them, and get them out in a timely fashion for avid readers such as myself. If there’s a typo that doesn’t interfere with my understanding (as in this story – unless Ives corrected some), so be it. Goff makes typos, too. That’s life in the digital world.

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  20. Mark,

    It comes across as unprofessional. Ives, is clearly a hardworker and deserves the blog hits he gets for the information he provides. This is a close as we get in the soccer world in the US to an up-to the minute news site (this and Goffs site). But the typos make it seem lazy and second rate. Again, compare to Goff.

    When it is treated like a classy professional site it gets and deserves more respect.

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  21. sevy- correct me if im wrong, but i think the preseason was taken up by the olympics and the big 3 games… are you saying that playing against the likes of England, Spain and Argentina was not in the best interest of his development???

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  22. How much of him not playing had to do with Daddy not letting him get settled in with a new club? Unlike what BB did with other National Team players who were making transitions at the same time.

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  23. Not taking a shot here at you Nick, but who cares if there are typos? It’s a soccer blog, not an article in the NY Times. Just enjoy the great content that Ives provides.

    Bradley is going to be a very good player. He’s good now, but he’s still not completely there yet. He has the potential to be an effective box to box midfielder who can contribute on both ends. Sort of an improved version of Reyna(in his prime) if he fulfills his potential.

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  24. Well said MB, I never really doubted him because I know he has the skill, will, and confidence to start in any league. hopefully he can help keep gladbach up this year.

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  25. Bradley, just like Jozy and adu, seem to have his head on straight…. he realizes its not going to be an instantaneous transition, and we as fans have to realize this…. he’ll get his shot…

    Reply

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