The optimal position of Michael Bradley when he plays for the United States is a topic of frequent debate.

“I think I’m a complete midfielder. I can attack. I can defend. I can score goals. I can set up goals. I can tackle. I can intercept balls. I can play a more disciplined role a little deeper. I can be more mobile. I can cover ground. I think I’m somebody who in the midfield can do anything that’s asked. Depending on the team, depending on the game, depending on what’s needed, I’m ready to take whatever is asked of me and spill my heart and soul and blood and sweat and tears into that, trying to be the best and trying to help the team be successful."

 

Bradley's play as a No. 10 in the World Cup was uneven, though the United States was also playing without Jozy Altidore.

“I use that example just in a way to answer your question about this debate about my position. As you get older, as you improve, as you become a better player, as you become a bigger player, there’s more responsibility to make big plays and make plays that make a difference. And so could I play deep in the midfield and kind of just sit in there and get the ball 100 times a game and complete, depending on the game, 80 or 90 or 100 passes? Yeah, I could. 

“But is that really going to help? Is that enough for us to win? At the end of 90 minutes, is that going to be enough for us to be successful? Maybe some days. But on other days maybe it’s not going to be. And I think that is where I’ve started to understand that the responsibility now is to make plays that make a difference, in attack and in defense.

“And maybe that means losing a few more balls. Maybe that means a few plays that don’t come off. Maybe that means a few passes where the timing is a little off, and they don’t work. But it also probably means a few more assists, a few more goals, a few more plays that make the difference and help us win. At the end of the day, it’s up to the coach to decide where and how that all fits in. I’m ready to do anything that Jurgen or Greg [Vanney, the Toronto coach] or whatever coach I’m playing for at the time asks of me.”