Bob Bradley takes over as Toronto FC coach. The General is ready to take orders

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/11/2021 (1749 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Soccer has been in Michael Bradley’s blood since he was very young. His love of the game has taken him from his home state of New Jersey to Major League Soccer, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Italy and back to North America.

Along the way, the Toronto FC captain has learned from the best at every level. Perhaps none more so than the one who has been there every step of the way.

“My dad and I talk regularly, about everything — about football, about different things going on,” the 34-year-old Bradley, whose signing nearly eight years ago changed the course of the franchise, said of his father Bob.

They’ll be able to save on their long-distance bills after Wednesday’s announcement of the 12th head coach in Toronto FC history.

Bob Bradley, 63, arrives after a recent split with Los Angeles FC and already feels right at home, joining a club where his son is among the stars on the field and his brother Jeff is director of communications.

As sporting director as well as coach, Bradley will be responsible for all of TFC’s on-field operations — from the academy level to the first team — as well as player personnel and roster makeup. He brings more than 20 years of experience, including with the national teams of the United States (son included) and Egypt. Teams he has coached have won the Gold Cup, reached the World Cup and captured the MLS Cup, U.S. Open Cup (twice) and CONCACAF Champions League final. He is also a three-time MLS coach of the year, and LAFC won a Supporters’ Shield with him in charge.

TFC president Bill Manning, who has worked in professional sports nearly as long as Bradley, said he had been waiting a long time for the chance to hire him. When the coach’s L.A. contract was up, Manning pounced. MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum was also involved in the negotiations, with the rest of the Bradley family in the loop.

The incoming coach arrives with a clear vision for a team that needs a reset after finishing second-last in points in MLS this past season, one of the worst in their history. Bradley says he’ll target areas of weakness under previous coaches Chris Armas and Javier Pérez: identity, playing style, chance creation, tempo and tracking back.

But with next season months away, there was time for the Bradleys to enjoy a little family reunion before getting down to business.

“Where’s the four?” the coach said when Manning handed him a TFC jersey, referencing his son’s familiar number.

Like the captain, Bradley says he was drawn to Toronto’s diversity and downtown stadium — the energy in the stands when BMO Field is full, the close connection between fans and the club. The coach said he’s watched every game of his son’s TFC career, often more than once. He and wife Lindsay were in the stands when the Reds won the MLS Cup in 2017.

“(Michael) and I have shared incredible moments in the game,” Bradley said. “Those moments came when I coached him, but they’ve come when we’ve been far apart — watching his games, talking to him.”

He coached the TFC captain on the U.S. national team from 2006 to 2011, but wasn’t sure he’d get another chance with the midfielder late in his career and one season left on the three-year deal he signed in December, 2019.

“I’ll be interested now to be able to … find ways to continue to open up (Michael’s) mind for how he can get better, just like I will with every other player,” the coach said. “To challenge him, to push him.”

The younger Bradley knows better than anyone what to expect when the Reds get back to work: focus, tempo and high expectations. His nickname is the General, but he knows how to take orders.

“It’s the same way you deal with anybody,” the coach said. “You have real conversations, real discussions. You make decisions.

“Nobody ever said when you’re a manager that every player agrees with every decision, but (it’s) how you make decisions, how you communicate, how you hold people to standards.”

If they play their cards right, the General said, success on the field will be what makes all the headlines.

“After today, people are going to get sick of hearing about Bob Bradley and Michael Bradley, father and son. It gets old, trust me.”

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy