Michael Bradley Should Play Defensive Midfielder for USMNT
Michael Bradley was born to play as a defensive midfielder. Bradley’s incredible engine – meaning his cardiovascular stamina – has been praised for years, and this has caused some coaches and fans to push for him to play a more offensive role in the midfield. But, Bradley’s ability to run hard for more than 90 minutes is a key quality for a defensive midfielder.
Having the energy and endurance to constantly cover for the defense and present oneself as a constant passing option is vital for a defensive midfielder. Somehow, there is a belief that Bradley’s ability to run nonstop is wasted as a defensive midfielder, but that position is a physically demanding position. In fact, not having the air in one’s lungs or the power in one’s legs to be able to mark and chase down opposing players would be a major problem.
At the base of the midfield, Bradley can control the United States’ passing and protect the American backline from being overrun and burned. Playing the defensive midfield role doesn’t mean that Bradley can’t advance forward together with the team, and it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have any cover to make attacking forays. The Number 8 midfielder or box-to-box midfielder has the responsibility to cover for the defensive midfielder in this situation. The American midfield needs a tireless runner at its base, and this is where Bradley can best use his skill set. The base of the midfield even affords Bradley more touches on the ball, and therefore more influence on the game.
The misuse and miscasting of players has been a constant problem for Jürgen Klinsmann, and a non-American example of this was his attempt to get rid of Thomas Müller when Klinsmann was the coach of Bayern Munich. Bradley and Jermaine Jones have been consistently misused by Klinsmann, and the American midfield continues to be too weak as a result of not having a defensive midfielder with the technical ability and athleticism to truly compete against top national teams.
With the emergence of Darlington Nagbe, it makes sense to use the more dynamic Nagbe in his natural role as a Number 8 with a flair for the offensive. This means Bradley as the Number 6 and Nagbe as the Number 8 makes a lot of sense for the United States, and as World Soccer Source has previously written, Sebastian Lletget should be given the Number 10 role and set loose.
Bradley has many years of excellent soccer ahead of him, and it’s time to stop forcing him into different midfield roles that don’t suit him or his teams. For the National Team, using Bradley correctly as a defensive midfielder ultimately means the more creative Nagbe and Lletget can play the more attacking roles.
Don’t forget that, with AS Roma, Bradley’s position was listed as a “mediano” which is the midfield destroyer role.