Posted by

Michele Tossani ,

August 14, 2014 Twitter:

@MicheleTossani

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Revisiting Bradley's evolution in the midfield

In his latest Armchair Analyst column for MLSsoccer.com, Matthew Doyle has another outstanding segment that puts emphasis on Michael Bradley’s recent performances. As RedNation Online readers already know, we have monitored his displays with TFC and have taken close looks at Bradley’s outings throughout the year. See also: Giving Klopas a shot the right way to go in Montreal

The reason for the spotlight was not only because the former AS Roma midfielder is one of the most hyped DP’s in the league’s recent history, but also because the USMNT’s footballer is the protagonist in one of the most scrutinized tactical experiments seen in MLS. Bradley is currently acting like an unorthodox No.10 in Ryan Nelsen’s tactical game plan. Earlier in the season, we were asking if Bradley had the tools to become an effective trequartista for both club and country. Although Bradley isn’t the most creative player on the team, he can be good enough to make nice, clean passes in the final third, providing smart balls through the channels. Playing in an advanced role also allows Bradley to get into the box and exploit his finishing ability.



We concluded the column by pointing out the fact that ‘playing behind the forwards isn’t the best position for Bradley…but [that] it’s an interesting option.’ After MLS passed the 2014 mid-season mark, you can’t argue that the Bradley experiment has worked 100%. While this switch produced mixed results at the USMNT level, it has been more successful at the MLS level. In fact, with USA at the 2014 World Cup, Bradley failed to produce to what many expected and some criticism he received wasn’t unfounded. In their second group game that ended 2-2, the giveaway that allowed Portugal to draw was his lowest point during the tournament. That said, Bradley didn't play as poorly as the general perception has been, especially compared other players that had poor moments and left the tournament relatively unscathed. Yes, he was less effective with the national team, but it was also due to the different style of play between USMNT and his club. Jurgen Klinsmann’ s side was essentially a reactive team, playing on the counterattack. That hindered Bradley’s ability to attempt passes in the final third. Things are different at the MLS level, under a different philosophy, where Bradley is more involved in the buildup process and has more time to hold the ball. Call him a pure No. 8, as Doyle does, or a ‘false ten’, the key point here is that Bradley is operating like a classic box-to-box midfielder. The ability of adding another holding midfielder, such as Collen Warner or Kyle Bekker in the middle of the pitch, gives Bradley the freedom to push forward supporting the offense and this has been seen throughout the season and especially of late.



Although surprisingly he hasn’t registered an official assist, Bradley has taken the edge from playing this free role offensively, producing an average of 2.2 key passes and 0.6 through balls per game. As many have seen over the last month, the midfielder has been creating excellent chances for his attackers and also showing some support with attempts on goal. While Michael Bradley still gets opportunities to help with the team out of possession, as Nelsen didn’t relive him of his defensive responsibilities, lining him up closer to the net into a more proactive position gives Bradley the chance to run into the final third to play through balls, a role we did not see throughout the World Cup. With Toronto passing the midpoint of their campaign, to continue the question posed earlier in the year, Michael Bradley definitively has shown he can be effective as an advanced holding midfielder playing further up the pitch. For the remainder of the season will undoubtedly be integral in opportunities created for the likes of Jermain Defoe, Gilberto, Dominic Oduro and Luke Moore. Michele Tossani is a football tactician with a Ph.D. in History. Michele resides in Florence, Italy and is a tactical analyst for Futbol-Tactico.com