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Toronto FC embraces Bradley’s leadership, performance despite missed PK

Dec 10, 2016; Toronto, Canada; Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley (4) plays the ball ahead of Seattle Sounders midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro (10) during the second half in the 2016 MLS Cup at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Photo by John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO — Anybody can miss penalty kicks.

That message was echoed by Toronto FC after its heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Sounders in the MLS Cup final on penalty shootouts on Saturday.

Following 120 minutes of scoreless action, TFC captain Michael Bradley had his penalty saved by Stefan Frei in the second round before Justin Morrow rocketed his attempt off the crossbar in the sudden-death sixth round to set up the Sounders’ Roman Torres game-winner that stunned the capacity crowd at BMO Field.

“I was kind of disappointed that it came down to PKs after such a hard-fought season and game in particular,” Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney said. “That’s not how you want to finish a game or a season.”

The twist of fate was perhaps particularly cruel on Bradley, who was outstanding during the match and a front-runner for the MLS Cup MVP until the very end. During the two hours of open play, the 29-year-old midfielder displayed tremendous work rate by doing a little bit of everything for the home side.

The first half saw Bradley carve up the Sounders vaunted defense through combination plays with Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore, all while creating several threatening chances on set pieces that tested Frei’s judgment in front of the net. In a more balanced second half where the Sounders found better chances in their counter-attacks, Bradley did well in tracking back, making timely tackles and blocking shots to thwart Seattle’s offense, which finished with zero shots on goal.

“He did what he did and he did what he was capable of doing for 120 minutes for our group and gave us a great chance to win the game,” Vanney said. “I would never, ever, ever beat somebody up for missing a PK. That happens.”

It may have been difficult find solace in the deflating ending, but teammates poured in support for Bradley afterwards, understanding what he truly means to this Toronto FC team.

“It’s never easy obviously,” Jozy Altidore said. “Michael is a guy that prides himself in working hard and being a leader, and he’s a great leader. He will be our leader whether he scored or not. We count on him, we need him and he’s going to be back better than ever.”

“Mike is an unbelievable captain and an unbelievable person both on and off the field,” Drew Moor added. “He’s the main reason we are in this position today and you can’t say enough good things about Michael Bradley.”

Toronto FC wasn’t able to lift the elusive MLS Cup yet on Saturday, but for a club that has made great strides over the past two seasons, this was just another painful moment it will grow through collectively.

“This is a group that sticks together in every possible way,” Bradley said. “From the first day of preseason this year, this has been a real group in every sense of the word. We’ve grown together, we have taken the good moments all together, we’ve taken the setbacks together and tonight was no different.

“On behalf of the team, we can only thank every person in this city for their support and for the passion, the emotion and the energy that they put into this with us. I’m sick to my stomach that we couldn’t reward them with the biggest trophy tonight.”

Comments

  1. wow, thanks patrick, rosea and old school. I thought someone was going to criticize me for saying that. well, I’ve had 24 hours to think about what I write next and here goes.

    michael bradley is important to us. he’s like landon donovan, because he’s domestic. we all loved guys like carlos vallarama and cuatomac blanco and jaime moreno, who graced our league. but they are foreigners, forgive me for saying so. in our hearts, what we all yearn for – and I speak for only myself, so please correct me if I am wrong – is a domestic hero. and so that’s why we cherish guys like landon donovan and michael bradley, because their domestic. we all know that the rest of the world has world class players. what we want is to show that we have some world class players, too.

    michael bradley, I am nothing. just a fan. there is a little orange cheetohs grease on my shirt as I write this. it’s a little unbecoming. if you want to hear one fan’s opinion, I’ll tell you now.

    michael, I want to see you unleash your “inner dempsey.” I want to see your “dempsey” face. I want to see you take on defenders 1-on-1 and score a game-changing goal. and then, I want to see you thump your chest and howl at the moon and say to the world, “I AM MICHAEL BRADLEY, HEAR ME ROAR!” like clint dempsey did in the 2010 world cup.

    thank you

    Reply
  2. I think both Bob Bradley, and Michael Bradley have tremendous intangibles and can easily be considered “leaders”. Whether or not one will remain employed is based on his club results (which haven’t been impressive) and one is worthy of being a designated-player (which his performances haven’t been impressive).

    We can embrace leadership all we want, and there’s absolute merit to having it exist, but if you’re….sucking….you can’t spray cologne on a pile of shit. It still smells like shit.

    Reply
  3. did we watch the same game? because the michael bradley that I saw was immobile, had no passion, no creativity, demonstrated no unusual skill, made elementary passing plays, never took defenders on 1-on-1, just played a very simple game making push-passes to open teammates. league mvp, are you kidding me??? sure, he’s solid, he’s reliable to make the easy play, but everyone can make tif easy play. I’m not trying to be mean, but when michael bradley can dribble through three defenders and score like giovinco or bwp or one of these guys then I think you can include him in the discussion for league mvp. making the simple plays and being a good guy in the locker are great but not league mvp, come on.

    Reply
    • SBI has been a MB apologist blog for years now. No matter how bad he plays, he is always put in a kind light. Never harshly criticized or even remotely raised the possibility of *gasp* he should be benched.

      Reply

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