I love your optimism but...no. Michael Bradley would be doing himself and the USMNT a disservice by coming to the MLS in the prime of his career. I can understand the battle he constantly faces finding playing time for Roma can get frustrating. But that is what's making him the player that he is. I believe he's currently the best American soccer player. The national team is significantly better with him in the lineup than without. He needs to stay in Europe. I just wish he'd at least wait until after the Cup. Apparently, Toronto is going on a spending spree, though. They're apparently after Jermaine Defoe from Tottenham, too.
I think Bradley would be better off playing for a better team, but I can't fault the guy for wanting to get paid. If Toronto is offering three times more than anybody else then it's a no brainer for Bradley.
Leroy, Those guys have short careers, they need to go wherever the money is best - if that is the MLS, that can only be good for both the MLS and US soccer in general as the more quality players come over here, the better the soccer, and the better in general it is for the USA. Anything that grows soccer in the USA is good for me... DD
Here's the thing, if the US goes with a lineup like this for the World Cup: Howard Evans* - Besler* - Gonzalez* - F. Johnson Donovan* - Jones - Bradley* - Zusi* Dempsey* Altidore 7 (and possibly 8 if Jones also transfers to MLS even though I'd prefer Cameron starting over Jones!) of the starting 11 are MLS-based. Is that good enough to advance in the tournament? Wouldn't more success in the World Cup do more to advance interest in US soccer than having the top US guys play in MLS?
I think it's a bit of both. More interest in the league means more money for teams which means they can get better players and have better academies, which leads to more interest in the league. For the players being on better teams with better teammates and better coaches playing against better competition will help them in the long run. But I don't think Bradley and Dempsey are going to regress to the point that it makes a huge difference in the World Cup. And the rest of those guys have been good enough so far (we're coming off of what was arguably the most successful year for US soccer). I think Altidore is a interesting topic. Was he better off in Holland scoring lots of goals with his confidence sky high or playing in England where it's tougher and he may end up getting into a slump that affects him in the World Cup?
As a Roma fan I surprised by Bradley's move. he was a very solid option off the bench for us, especially as a back up for De Rossi. After watching him the past few years playing in Serie A, i have come to believe that he is the best American player. I believe he is making a Huge mistake as he is in the prime of his life. I understand he wanted to leave because we just signed another more talented midfielder, Radja Nainngolan, this january transfer period, but why leave for MLS? thats a step backwards. He is in his prime and is very capable of playing on almost any team in europe.
Because he'll be making 5 to 6 million dollars a year as opposed to 1 million euro a year. Simple math.
As the post above mine indicated, when an employer is willing to triple your salary, it becomes near ridiculous to say no.
It is always better to play over sitting - and sometimes playing with confidence and being a leader on a medium level team is better going into the world cup than just being another guy on a top team. DD
This I agree with. Though, without the benefit of having watched Sunderland play, I can't assume it's totally Jozy's fault. They just 1 place off the bottom and I can't say whether they use him properly. Hopefully, he'll find some more success in the 2nd half of the season and get back on track going into the summer.
