Get to Know the USA's Michael Bradley
The veteran midfield will lead the Americans today against Portugal.
— -- The 2014 World Cup marks midfielder Michael Bradley’s second tournament, an impressive feat for a 26-year-old.
Bradley, who is originally from Princeton, N.J., has played for club teams in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy before he was sold in January to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer.
Soccer runs in Bradley’s blood. He’s the son of Bob Bradley, who’s coached at the college level, MLS and the U.S. team in 2010. Bradley spent his teenage years in Chicago, where his father coached the Chicago Fire.
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At 16, Bradley went pro, playing in MLS for the MetroStars, now called the New York Red Bulls.
Fans consider Bradley serious and a professional when it comes to the sport -– and arguably the best player on the U.S. team.
He and wife Amanda Barletta married in 2011, right before the couple moved to Italy for Bradley to join Chievo Verona. The following season, they moved to Rome, where Bradley played for Roma. Fans there nicknamed him “Il Generale” -- "The General" -- for always taking control of the game and helping create goals.
Bradley’s also apparently a fan of Italian coffee and even learned to speak Italian when abroad. He'll need some espresso to keep up with Portugal in a do-or-die game for the USA today in Manaus.
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