by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
With most people (including those of us on SBI) focused on the MLS Draft and Landon Donovan's performances with Bayern Munich last week, you might have missed the other American player who beautifully scored for his German club side. The author of the fascinating goal? Michael Bradley.
Borussia Monchengladbach took on Grasshopper-Club Zurich in a friendly last Thursday and Bradley stole the show with his 30-yard volley in the 25th minute.
See for yourself:
Gladbach could use more of that offensive fire-power from Bradley as they currently sit in last place in the German Bundesliga. Monchengladbach resumes its season on January 31 vs. VfB Stuttgart.
What did you think of Bradley's golazo? Think he can replicate those type of goals for the USMNT and in the Bundesliga? Did the goal make you reminisce of Benny Feilhaber's goal against Mexico back in 2007? Think the haters would finally lay off Bradley if he hit one of those against Mexico on Feb. 11th?
Share your thoughts below.
Great goal! Congrats Michael.. I bet he enjoyed the one versus, was it Bayern Munchen, more though. back when Landon was just “training”
Or the first one in the bundesliga where they fought back. He has had some clutch scoring performances.
Wow, maybe I’m just disconnected, but I never realized people actually believe that crap about him only playing because of his dad. He is by far our best center midfielder.
I’ll repeat that. BY FAR our best CM.
He wins balls, that’s his job, and that’s why he gets cards. That’s what happens with CDM’s. They stop the counter from gathering speed after the rest of the midfielders fail. Points in case: Brazil, Argentina, Spain.
His passing is greatly improved from last year, and better than any of our other CM’s. I don’t know if you were watching some of the qualifiers, but his passes, especially some difficult, cross-field, long balls out to opposite wings were absolutely spot-on.
Add in the fact that he’s 6’1″, decently fast, wins headers, is great at positioning and late runs into the box, and you’ve got a guy that could be great in a few years, he’s only 21.
I would love to see him played at an attacking mid position, but that can’t happen until we have capable ball winners to play those holding positions behind him. I think one of those will definitely be Edu. Clark could develop into another viable option, but he’s already 25, he needs to start showing he deserves to be there.
1st shots like that don’t sail over the bar. 2nd the kid may not always be sharp, but he is a quality player who has shown a propensity to step up in big games. The guy who brought him in just got fired. This was big game for him if he wants to play under new admin. In europe you must score to play in the mid.
That’s a world class strike any day of the week. To say otherwise is just plain ridiculous…
Sick
Nice goal, hope he keeps improving (if he has). But come on folks, he is not the answer to our problems. Good, but still not good enough. Any one of our stars can sit out there give fouls and collect cards (stupid ones at that). We have others who can do what he does (Edu, no creativity just plain), so maybe the bitterness lies with how much playing time papa BB keeps giving. Daddy-o makes it seem like Junior has an automatic position lock.
@Northzax
I’m pretty sure Balboa’s bicycle attempt was against Colombia in ’94, not Brazil. I can’t even remember a quality chance against 10-men Brazil. Times have changed.
Once in a lifetime.
Nice shot, now do it in the league.
Nah, its better than nothing. Just keep it coming Mikey.
I’m beginning to think that all the people who are criticising Bradley after such a great goal are just bitter DC/Chicago/Toronto/Houston fans.
Bradley scored one goal. How was he in the rest of the game?
How were his passes? Did he make bone head fouls? How many bad cards did he get?
I don’t understand the love for him. He is just an average player, not a “great” player. I will not say he sucks. He is just not more than he is which is an average player.
He makes poor decisions in a game and does not always help string the passes between midfield and the forwards.
Travis, assuming you mean a pairing for central midfield (and that Donovan, Dempsey, and Beasley are on the wings or at forward), it depends on opponent, but Torres, Klejsten, Mastro and Bradley would all be in the mix. I don’t think any of the four have played themselves into being an automatic starter.
Good things come to those who shoot.
Sad, he is one of the few Americans that can actually hold their own in Europe. He was a player that was playing out of position as a teen. And he plays a defensive game on the Nats. Bradley is the type of player that won’t get any respect until say after the 2010 WC, when daddy won’t be in the mix. Maybe…
I’m not Bradley’s biggest fan, but that was a great goal, friendly or not. I agree Northzax, there’s luck in every goal. And whatever you can say about him on the national team, his dad did not get a transfer to the Bundesliga; let’s hope he can start to find his scoring touch there!
A.S. – what’s your midfield pairing if the WC happens tomorrow?
What is with you people? Just enjoy it for what is was.
man, all you haters need to get your heads out of your a**. It’s always some excuse to Sh** on your country’s own players. Doesn’t the hate just get old?! Funny that everyone with a negative comment is just sitting on their FAT a*** typing Bull****. How many of you are playing in europe scoring goals like that, freindly or not. ………….yeah i thought so. Stupid a** people.
BTW, GianFranco, any word on how many goal scoring opportunities Bradley gave up with poor defensive play? You know, like his poor defensive play that lead to Cuba’s sole goal in the 6-1 Qualifier rout, or his poor defensive play that lead to T&T’s sole goal-scoring opportunity in the US’s 3-0 demolition of T&T? How about how many bad yellow cards he was shown?
Lucky? Fluky? Sure. Luck plays a large role in all long distance goals. The only goals that don’t have that element are pretty boring tap ins. Goals are fluky, that’s why they are so precious. Otherwise, every decent set piece from 30 meters in would be a goal. Heck, even at the epl/serie a/la liga level a good 60% miss the goal entirely. A volley, or even a shot on a moving ball, is even harder. A couple of examples:
Remember Beckham’s free kick against Greece? From about 30 meters, right? A recent study showed that the ball left his foot at about 85mph. Cleared the wall and the proceeded, in the space of 20 meters, to decellerate to 45mph, move laterally 8 feet and vertically (down) 5 feet. Think about that for a second. He hits that ball one milimeter to the left, or half a mile and hour faster, and it doesn’t go in. Fluke? Sure, but also brilliant. How many of those has he missed in his career?
How about maxi rodriguez’s sick trap volley in Germany? What are the odds of putting a ball into a box about 15inches square from 30 yards away, at an angle, out of the air? Inconceivable, which is why it was so awesome. Why doesn’t he just do that all the time?
Or a less successful option. Anyone remember Marcelo Balboa’s bicycle kick against Brazil in 94? Missed by about eight inches. That ball is a foot to the left? We beat brazil in our first knockout game since Uruguay, and 15 years on the soccer landscape in this country might look significantly different.
Flukes? Hairsbreadth differences in atmosphere, direction, velocity. One books a world cup ticket at the last minute, one books a quarterfinal spot for a proud nation, one is forgotten. Flukes. But you don’t score if you don’t shoot.
U guys are to rough… let the kid be… he is good for his age… and would be great by the time he is 25… but u guys are bringing him down now?!!!
Tell me when was the last time you saw an Amrecian… score a goal like that!!!
Yea Bradley>> keep up the good work.
sweeeeeet…
luckiest shot i ever seen
With apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson:
There are three wants that can never be satisfied: that of the rich, wanting more; that of the sick, wanting something different; and that of the US soccer fan who simply says ‘anyone but him.’
It doesnt matter what he does Feb 11th. Daddy will never take hime off the field. I watched it with the metrostars years ago.
Beautiful bit of skill by the youngster. I was very encouraged when I saw it last week. It was particularly nice because it demonstrated a strong first touch and clinical ball striking. I’ve always said that he could evolve into a Paul Scholes type but we haven’t seen many glimpses of that kind of skill heretofore.
I’ve been his biggest critic, but he’s still extremely young and if he can add some touch and ball striking to his prodigious workrate, he could be exactly what we need, ie a defensively responsible center mid that can also run the attack. The US system asks for so much defensively out of their center mids that I think Junior is our best hope to fit that spot (at least until Renken is ready).
Bradley plays a more defensive role for the US which is why he doesn’t get as many goals. He also had Alves on the team taking attention away from the midfield at Herenveen.
He should be a more Attacking Mid type player if you ask me.
Great goal! Give MB credit for having the audacity and confidence to take a crack at such a strike in the first place, but I do agree with others who pointed out that this is a pretty low percentage shot that normally flies way up into the stands. The Feilhaber vs. MB issue is an interesting one. My take is that Feilhaber’s rapid rise was due to his apparent creativity on the ball and for our collective desire to see such a dynamic, creative, attacking player finally appear and assert himself on the US Men’s midfield. Fans fooled themselves into thinking that the corner kick volley vs. Mexico as the final proof that Feilhaber was that talismanic Tab Ramos type of midfielder who’d finally arrived. But that was clearly a pipe dream–or at least one that’s on hold for now. Another issue is why MB was so productive scoring goals with Heerenveen (even though lots of them seemed to be tap ins from what I saw) while he’s not been so productive creating chances for himself or others on the US team or with Gladbach. So Feilhaber and Bradley’s goals really are anomalies until we see more consistency with both of them. And since MB has played so much, it’s easier for us to believe that what we most often see in a US uniform is really what we’ve got: a decent holding defensive midfielder and not much else. Time will tell.
I’ll take Benny’s magic, but that was niiiiiice. Jacob likey. I also like that he’s buzzed his head again.
Weak, no comparison to Benny’s goal. He has a long way to go. When will he show the type of game that removes the coach’s son title away from him, would he have played in every Nats game with a different coach at the helm? Its ok to be critical people, we want the best people on the field.
sayerville… whoa… x1000 points for the ’89 reference. and yeah, both goals were stallar!
Holy moly … hellava goal. Keep it goin’ Mikey.
Vaguely reminded me of Caligiuri’s goal against T&T in 89.
Obviously not as important, but in terms of quality and style, it was similar.
I actually liked the song…who was the band? What is the song name?
Nice goal. Good vision in chipping the keeper. 95% of people that score goals like that will get criticized by people that can’t hit the side of a barn with a penalty shot. 🙂
You guys are saying that its different when its against Mexico and its a World Cup Qualifier. Well sometimes players step up when a challenge presents itself. The point is no one knows what will happen because we don’t know what kind of mentality the U.S. will enter the game with.
+1
Awful music.
Why do people who put up great goals or compilations have such bad taste in music? Is there a relation to the two? So weird.
Feilhaber’s goal was much better, not to mention that it was clutch. Kinda of a fluke goal by Bradley, goalie for grasshopers is really awful
Great goal. Terrible music.
It all depends on where Bradley is playing and what his role was. It’s obvious he is one of those rare complete central midfielders who can play box to box. But his dad didn’t use him that way with the MetroStars. As long as he has the lungs and legs, I say let him develop into a role with the U.S. that he played in Heerenveen, providing offense and defense as well.
keep it up Junior!!
….wow….Mikey scores a goal from 30 yards out and yall STILL aren’t satisfied…..un….be….lievable….
Good goal Mikey.
I really hope they can turn in around. Having your club relegated can’t be good on a career….
Speaking of which….Heath Pierce not playing on a club that is a likely relegation candidate in the 2 has to hurt his chances for 2010. Ri-damn-diculous.
Hopefully Spector starts getting some minutes. Left back continues to be a big concern.
It’s just a goal in a friendly against Grasshopper Club. It is not the same as a goal in WC Qualifying against Mexico.
He may have been the best player on the field against Grasshopper. Who knows and who cares. He’s stunk up the joint over the past year playing for the National Team, and based on his play with the National Team, he doesn’t deserve to be an automatic starter against Mexico — although we all know that he will start regardless of whether it is deserving. If by “hater” you mean someone who doesn’t think he should automatically start every one of our games, then I’m a hater. I’ve just yet to see play on the field for the Nats deserving of his place.
Nice goal, I had already seen it. Hopefully all our players that are overseas can gain more of a shooting prowess. This is a fine example of taking a shot as soon as you have an opening because you never know, which is hopefully something that can be brought back to the national team.
Nice enough trap, but kind of a hail-mary, falling back prayer of a shot. Not really that a great strike. 95% of the time that ball sails over the bar.
Unless he scores the game winning goal at the Azteca he’ll still be just the coach’s son to the haters.
Why can’t they put him in a CAM role? What do they have to lose, really? His time at Heerenveen shows he has a nose for goal so let him loose and don’t tie him down with as much defensive responsibilites.
that was feilhaber-esque
I saw the goal a couple days ago and am planning on putting it in one of my new CC Series videos. I thought people knew about it, just didn’t care because it was in a friendly against Grasshopper(?).
Certainly if he was more willing and able to produce goals of that caliber in Bundesliga, against Mexico, or in the Confederations Cup, Bradley would become one of the most popular USMNT players just like Benny did.