Michael Bradley's MLS career began back in 2004, but we'll be starting a decade later. Bradley played for the Metrostars, before taking a world tour to play for all of Dutch side Heerenveen, Monchengladbach, Aston Villa, Chievo Verona and AS Roma. After the American midfielder's stint in Italy, it was time to return back to MLS, but not to his home country. Toronto FC purchased Bradley for a $10m transfer fee from Roma. Bradley's career there started and began exactly in line with the series.
In March of 2014, he made his Toronto debut against Seattle. He also remained a fixture with the United States National Team, scoring a goal against Mexico in an April friendly. Bradley has 151 total caps for his country. In the very next match he played, he scored his first MLS goal. In Columbus, he ran onto a ball and struck a low shot to the back post from a near impossible angle. In the middle of the 2014 season, he went to the World Cup with the US. Bradley played every single minute of their four matches at the world tournament. Bradley assisted the consolation Julian Green goal against Belgium. On September 27th, he whipped a free kick into the box that somehow went untouched and served as a TFC match-winner with minutes to go. Bradley earned his fourth assist of the season in October against the Red Bulls. Toronto missed the playoffs in his first season. He was a 2014 MLS All-Star.
In 2015, Michael Bradley exploded offensively, setting MLS career-highs in both goals and assists. He ended up being named the 2015 US Soccer Player of the Year. He scored his first goal of the year in New England, dribbling through the entire roster and smashing it in at the back post. He then scored and assisted Jozy Altidore in the Canadian Classique. He scored on a counter attack sprint against SKC. Bradley netted another in the rivalry with Montreal. He went on another dribbling display against Chicago, finishing it off with a deflection. Montreal got their revenge on Bradley in the postseason, sending them out in the first round by a 3-0 scoreline. Bradley made his 2nd straight MLS All-Star Team in 2015.
Toronto FC's made their first of many runs to the cup in 2016. Bradley scored just once on the year, as he ran into the box and smashed one in during a comeback 3-3 draw against the New York Red Bulls. He also assisted 5 goals on the season, one of which went to Jozy Altidore in the same game. Toronto FC finished third. In the playoffs, they got through Philadelphia and NYCFC to play an ECF with the Montreal Impact. In the first leg, Bradley placed a strike into the bottom corner to pull an all-important goal back. This allowed TFC to win in one of the wildest series of all time, advancing to MLS Cup for edition one against the Seattle Sounders. In the first time around, it was the Sounders who claimed the cup in penalties. Toronto did win the Canadian Championship, Bradley's first.
In 2017, Bradley assisted 2 goals, but he found one of his own with a chip of Mexico at the Estadio Azteca. Toronto won its second consecutive Canadian Championship. His first assist of the year came in the second match of the campaign, against Philadelphia. He dished the second of the year to Nicolas Hasler with a beauty of a cross. TFC won the Supporters' Shield by quite a margin, finishing with 69 points. They defeated the Red Bulls on away goals, then squeezed past the Columbus Crew with one goal. Michael Bradley and Toronto FC hosted MLS Cup after defeating Seattle 2-0 this time around. Bradley made his third All-Star Team.
For the third straight year, Toronto won the Canadian Championship in 2018. In the CONCACAF Champions League, they made a run to the final, though Chivas Guadalajara edged them out in penalties to prevent TFC from becoming the first MLS champion. In MLS play, he did not score for the second straight year, but did provide 5 assists from his central midfield position. On April 28th, he registered what has to be his strangest assist ever, mishitting a volley that fell for a Víctor Vázquez lob. He earned a secondary assist on a Sebastian Giovinco goal. On Decision Day, he got his fifth assist, another secondary one. Toronto completely missed out on the playoffs.
After two years without a goal, Michael Bradley got bored. On the opening day of the 2019 campaign, he scored a brace. The first was a tap-in during first half stoppage time, the second was roofed into the upper netting. He added just one more the whole rest of the season, a September strike against FC Cincinnati with velocity. TFC returned to the playoffs as the fourth seed in the East. He earned a secondary assist on the winning goal against DC United in the first round. They put down NYCFC and Atlanta. For the third time, they faced Seattle in MLS Cup, but it was another loss in 3-1 fashion.
In 2020, Toronto FC won another Canadian Championship, their fourth in five years. Bradley assisted one goal in the shortened season, a secondary assist in an equalizer against Inter Miami CF. A second placed finish turned into a first round exit against Nashville SC, a loss that seemingly spiraled the team. The following season went much worse, as they finished 13th, only FC Cincinnati was worse. Michael Bradley scored a goal against Columbus in May. He added 5 assists for what was a really poor Toronto FC team.
Despite having another abysmal team year and finishing 13th for a second straight year, Michael Bradley had a solid 3 goal and 5 assist year. He headed a set piece in during a chaotic 5-4 loss to NYCFC. His other two goals came in the same match, both against Charlotte FC in July. Fresh off the addition of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, there was a new spark, but it was short lived. Within the first ten minutes, his flick header put Toronto up by two. Then, in one of the nimblest displays Bradley showed in years, he combined with Insigne to score a beautiful skilled run and chip. That form did not last for Toronto FC, and they fizzled out.
In 2023, Michael Bradley posted one goal and one assist, the last of his career in each category. His final assist went to Federico Bernareschi in Atlanta. Bradley's last professional goal was header off a corner kick. He ended up missing 20 games with a hamstring injury. Bradley returned in August and finished out the year playing. It was a horrendous finish in the end for TFC, who ended up dead last in the Eastern Conference by 12 points. It was probably not the way Bradley wanted to end his iconic decade-long career in TFC red. On October 17, 2023, he announced his retirement ahead of the final game versus Orlando. After starring abroad, with TFC and for the USMNT, he is a certified legend in US Soccer history. He immediately became an assistant coach at Norwegian club Stabæk, where Bob Bradley is the manager. For his ten years at Toronto FC, Michael Bradley comes in at #29.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2023 | TFC | 1,444 | 1 | 1 |
2022 | TFC | 3,050 | 3 | 5 |
2021 | TFC | 2,690 | 1 | 5 |
2020 | TFC | 1,059 | 0 | 1 |
2019 | TFC | 2,372 | 3 | 3 |
2018 | TFC | 2,857 | 0 | 5 |
2017 | TFC | 2,700 | 0 | 2 |
2016 | TFC | 2,160 | 1 | 5 |
2015 | TFC | 2,250 | 5 | 6 |
2014 | TFC | 2,198 | 2 | 4 |
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