CARSON, Calif. -- There's been a ton of talk about where Michael Bradley should be positioned with the US national team, and those who favor him in a holding midfield role might use his comprehensive performance in Sunday's victory over Panama as evidence.
Bradley, one of two defensive midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 alignment, seemed to be everywhere and doing everything in the Yanks' 2-0 triumph at StubHub Center, running the game from the middle, setting up most of his side's chances, quieting Panama's attack, and scoring a superb opening goal from a set piece.
His ability to impact the game at both ends, and between those ends, appeared enhanced by his role in front of the back four, the position his coach at Toronto FC, Greg Vanney, believes he should occupy in contrast to US coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who prefers Bradley higher up the field.
Bradley doesn't have a whole lot of patience with the discussion.
“I play in the center of midfield,” he said after Sunday's game. “I do whatever the game asks. There's been so much unnecessary focus and attention put on all this stuff, and at the end of the day, you need guys who are willing to step on the field and are willing to spill their hearts and souls into it, and that's what I'm about.
“And so, you know, whether on a given day it's a slightly deeper role, on another day if it's more of a two-way role -- more mobility, popping back -- another day a more attacking role, it doesn't change what I'm about in terms of trying to step on the field, to be sharp, to have a big impact on both attack and defense and give everything I have to help the team.”
Bradley acknowledges that each of those roles call for different responsibilities, but he's capable of doing whatever is requited.
“Sure, it's reading the game, it's understanding what the game's asking, who you're playing with, who you're playing against,” he said. “[There's a] lot of different things that go into it.”
Bradley, who wasn't assigned so deep a role in the buildup to, during and in the months following the World Cup, also played in the holding role in the loss to Chile nearly two weeks ago. He's played deeper in these games, Klinsmann said, based on which players were in camp.
Klinsmann said there is flexibility in every role.
“They have the flexibility to [move around] on the field, when Mix [Diskerud, Bradley's midfield partner Sunday] goes a little higher and vice versa,” Klinsmann said. “We just warned them not to be on the same line, if possible, when they receive the ball, so that they stagger and, depending on what happens on the field, adjust to it. It was good energy from Michael from the beginning on.”
Temporarily taking some of the shine from the positional debate was Bradley scoring the winner on a corner kick from the left in the 27th minute. After nearly beating Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo five minutes earlier with a similar bending delivery, Bradley whipped the ball to the far post, to the upper right corner, to give the U.S. the advantage.
“We've worked a lot on set pieces the last six months or year,” Bradley said. “One of the ways we try to put pressure on the goalkeeper is lining up a few guys right on the goal line there and having whoever's serving the ball see if they can curl it in right on top of everybody. Obviously, today the guys in and around the goal did a great job, and the ball was not bad, and we got a goal from it.”
