Red Bull New York head coach Michael Bradley learned during his distinguished 19-year playing career that there aren’t any shortcuts to success.
“In life in general, in society, everybody, a lot of people are always looking for the quick fix to be able to snap their fingers and have it all come together perfectly,” Bradley explained during Monday’s media availability.
“That’s not always how it works. To be able to build something real, to be able to have a team in this case that can hold up on the hardest days, that can compete at the highest levels of this league week in and week out, that requires real work and that requires some hard days and that requires some hard lessons and that requires then understanding how to respond and how to bounce back and how to continue to push when things don’t come so easy.”
Despite his wealth of playing experiences and his time spent learning from several top coaches, including his father Bob, the 38-year-old is still fairly new to Major League Soccer’s coaching ranks. Through his first eight MLS matches in charge of the Red Bulls, the club has won three matches, lost three on three occasions and drawn twice.
Red Bull New York Look to Respond After Montréal Setback
Saturday’s 4-1 road defeat to CF Montréal represented a low point in the season, and it came exactly one week after a spirited 2-2 away draw against back-to-back MLS MVP Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
Following the loss at Saputo Stadium, Bradley admitted that the loss was the first time that the Red Bulls were “second best” this season.
‘It’s a frustrating afternoon,” he said on Saturday. “It’s the first time this season where you would say we were really second best on the day. The things that we want to be, the football that we want to play, the intensity and the commitment that we want to have, we came up short in those ways. On the day, Montréal was better.”
New York’s other two losses came on March 8, when Montréal shut out New York 3-0 at home, and when the Red Bulls were stunned 6-1 in a bizarre match in Charlotte on March 21. The lopsided final score doesn’t accurately reflect what was a closely-contested match until Gustaf Beggren saw red in the 52nd minute.
In each of these defeats, the Red Bulls played with the energy and attacking intent that Bradley demands. Saturday was the first time New York looked flat and slow-legged. Bradley, his staff and players will look to bounce back with a strong performance in front of home fans at Sports Illustrated Stadium against rivals D.C. United on Wednesday.
Bradley Guides Emerging Talent Through Early Season Tests
Since Bradley first arrived as Red Bull New York II head coach last June and succeeded Sandro Schwarz as first team head coach last December, his constant messaging to his players has been focused around small steps leading to long-term growth and sustainability.
“A lot of teams can’t become really good ones, and a lot of players can’t become really top players because it’s hard and there are no shortcuts,” he stated. “So we are committed to continuing the work, continuing to push each other, challenge each other, engage each other, help each other and take the foundation that is being built in a really good way and make sure that over the long run we have a team that can really hold up.”
Bradley captained the United States national team from 2015 to 2019. He played at massive European clubs like AS Roma and Aston Villa and started and finished his professional career in MLS.
How Bradley Is Building a Long-Term Identity at Red Bull New York
There’s no one better equipped than Bradley to prepare a Red Bulls squad made up of mostly under-23 talents and several emerging teenagers like Julian Hall, Adri Mehmeti, Matthew Dos Santos and Tanner Rosborough for the ups and downs that come along the way while drilling into them the professionalism needed to forge long careers in the game.
“It’s everybody’s dream to become a pro, it’s everybody’s dream to play at the highest level, but when you actually get there — you realize that it’s not easy, it’s hard, and again that’s why a lot of people don’t make it,” he said.
“So the ones with the hardest mentality, the ones with the most commitment, the ones with the most passion, the most love for what they do, those are the ones that can push through it all and be there in the end.”
The bad taste of the Montréal trip has subsided. Now, the Red Bulls’ focus is switched entirely to Wednesday’s meeting with D.C. United, and it will be a fresh opportunity for this squad to show everyone how driven they are to succeed.
“We’re going to be ready on Wednesday night to step on the field and get back to being us and playing our way and being ready to respond in a really strong way,” Bradley said.
Wednesday’s match at Sports Illustrated Stadium will kick off at 7:30 p.m Eastern Time.
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