Michael Bradley Named New Coach Of Red Bulls

 

Michael Bradley while coaching RBNY II last season. Provided by Red Bulls.

In a homecoming or sorts, the Red Bulls named Princeton, New Jersey, native Michael Bradley as their new head coach in an announcement on Monday morning.

Bradley is the second permanent Head Coach in franchise history to have previously played for the team, which he did in 2004 when they were still the MetroStars. He was selected with the 36th overall pick in that year's MLS Super Draft when he was just 16 years old.

That started a 20-year playing career, which saw him play in Europe, starting with when he joined Dutch Eredivisie team SC Heerenveen in 2005, where he spent three seasons before stops at Borussia Monchengladbach, Aston Villa, Cievo, and AS Roma. He came back to the MLS in 2014 when he joined Toronto FC, where he played for 10 seasons, and led them to the 2017 MLS Cup and Supporters Shield, as well as four Canadian Cups.

Most notably, Bradley was a member of the United States National Team, which he debuted for on May 26, 2006, against Venezuela. He made 151 appearances, third-most by a player in team history, and he scored 17 goals and notched 11 assists.

Bradley, who is 38 years old, joined the Red Bulls organization last season when he coached RBNY II, and he led them to their first MLS NEXT Pro Cup championship.

Before that, he was an assistant coach for the Canada Men's National Team for their Canadian Shield Tournament in June. His coaching career began as an assistant coach for Norwegian team Stabaek, which is coached by his father, Bob Bradley, and the team had a record of 16-12-10.

"I am excited for the opportunity to be Head Coach of the club that I started my professional career with and also in the state that I call home, Bradley said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to getting to work alongside everyone here and do my part to help this club achieve the success our fans deserve."

Red Bulls Head of Sport Julian de Guzman said in a statement, "Michael had an exceptional playing career and has demonstrated a bright future in coaching especially after leading our Red Bull New York II to the MLS NEXT Pro Cup this past season."