Michael Sheehan Bradley (born July 31, 1987) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder and captains Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and formerly captained the United States national team. The son of soccer coach Bob Bradley, he began his professional career with the MetroStars in Major League Soccer in 2004. He then spent several years in Europe, playing in the Dutch Eredivisie with Heerenveen, German Bundesliga with Borussia Mönchengladbach, English Premier League with Aston Villa and Italian Serie A with Chievo and Roma. He returned to MLS with Toronto FC in 2014, making over 250 total appearances and winning the MLS Cup in 2017. Since his debut in 2006, Bradley has made over 150 appearances for the United States men's national soccer team. He was selected for tournaments including five CONCACAF Gold Cups and two FIFA World Cups, winning two of the former and finishing as runner-up at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Early life Bradley was born in Princeton, New Jersey, son to Bob Bradley, former coach of the United States national team and Los Angeles FC. While his father was the head soccer coach at Princeton University, the family lived in Pennington, New Jersey. Michael spent his teenage years in Palatine, Illinois while his father coached the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer (MLS), and he grew up playing for Sockers FC, who went to the 2002 National Championships and finished third. He later attended the United States Under-17 Men's National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida – the dedicated facility for the training of the under-17 national team – for four semesters, from 2002 to 2004. As a child, he idolized Roy Keane, the Manchester United and Republic of Ireland midfielder. Club career MetroStars Before leaving Bradenton, Bradley signed a Project-40 contract with MLS, turning professional at the age of sixteen, and entered the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, where he was selected thirty-sixth overall by the MetroStars, who at the time were coached by his father. Bradley did not see any playing time in his rookie season, missing out with a foot injury, but went on to gain a starting spot in 2005, playing 30 out of 32 matches for the Metro. Just weeks after his father was fired as the club's coach, he headed in his first professional goal in a victory over Chivas USA on the last day of the 2005