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Bradley's transfer to Heerenveen is done
Michael Bradley is going Dutch.
The 18-year-old MetroStars midfielder has been sold by MLS to Heerenveen of the Dutch First Division, BigAppleSoccer.com has learned.
“The deal is done,” one source said. “No doubt about it.”
An announcement may be made as early as Thursday.
Bradley is expected to join the team soon for the rest of the season.
Bradley, the son of former Metros coach Bob Bradley, agreed to a multi-year contract, according to sources throughout MLS.
The 6-1, 170-lb. Bradley will receive an annual salary of $205,000, which is the minimum for foreign players in the league under 20, sources said. That is several times more than the $35,850 he received from the Metros last season. Foreign players over the age of 20 earn well into the six figures.
Bradley had a 10-day tryout with Heerenveen last winter and most recently had a two-week trial with Anderlecht (Belgium). Heerenveen has kept an eye on Bradley's progress and club officials obviously liked what they had seen and heard about the teenager's progress.
Going to the Netherlands means Bradley won't be under the shadow of his father and that he will be able to spread his wings on his own
There were a number of critics who thought and claimed that Bradley’s presence in the Metros’ lineup was a result of nepotism, although he came into his own as the season progressed. He is best known as scoring the goal that clinched a playoff spot for the Metros in their 2-0 victory over C.D. Chivas USA only days after his father was fired as coach.
Heerenveen is in eighth place in the 18-team league with an 8-6-5 mark and 29 points, 16 points behind first-place PSV Eindhoven (home of U.S. National Team midfielder DaMarcus Beasley), which has a 14-1-3 record and 45 points. Heerenveen, however, is only two points behind Ajax and Waalwijk, who both are 9-6-4 with 31 points.
Bradley will join the club midway through the season and could very well receive a baptism by fire as Heerenveen has reached the first knockout group of the UEFA Cup. The club hosts Steaua Bucharest on Feb. 15 and visits the Romanian team on Feb. 23.
Heerenveen recently sold Klaas Jan Huntelaar, the league's top scorer, to Ajax for a Dutch domestic record $13.3 million.
A pair of well-known international players, Manchester United and Dutch National Team striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Danish forward Jon Dahl Tomasson, played for the club at their start of their careers.
The Dutch league is considered a springboard league to bigger leagues in Europe. Virtually every player on the Dutch National Team has played for a club in the league. So, if Bradley forges a solid reputation in that league, he could very well find himself playing in one of the major leagues on the continent.
Although barely old enough to vote, Bradley made big strides and improved during last season, becoming a solid fixture at defensive midfield in his first full season as a pro. He made some rookie mistakes, but showed great promise.
Bradley, who missed most of the 2004 season with a leg injury, wound up leading the Metros in games (30) and minutes played (2,628), and was voted the team's young player of the year.
Picked in the fourth round (and 46th overall) in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, Bradley faced more scrutiny than most young, talented players because his father was the coach of the team.
Bradley belied his age and handled himself with grace, especially after the firing.
The Bradleys became the first father-son combination in the metropolitan area since Yogi and Dale Berra with the Yankees in 1985 and third overall (Lester Patrick and his sons Lynn and Muzz were with the New York Rangers from 1934-39).
