Michael Bradley: the Toronto FC legend who will be long remembered

Twice in my life I have been heartbroken because of a parasocial relationship.

The first time was May 31, 1998; I was eleven years old and Geri Halliwell announced she had left the Spice Girls. I remember going to bed, refusing to eat and bawling my eyes out because I couldn’t imagine a world without all five Spice Girls.

The second time was October 17, 2023; I was 36 years old and Michael Bradley announced his retirement from Toronto FC.

Now, in 25 years, my coping methods have evolved. Despite being absolutely devastated by the news, I managed to eat dinner that evening. However, I also told my partner that I needed to be left alone for a while and I shut down social media saying that I was getting too much “sadness” (sad anxiety) to read any more about Bradley.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen players retire from teams I love before. But no announcement has struck me as much as Bradley’s, and for the past few days I’ve been trying to figure out why.

And I think I finally got it.

For old-timers like me – those who lived in the stands of Toronto FC during the Mo Johnston era from 2007 to 2010 and then the lost Payne years that followed (which I wrote about for the Guardian in 2013) – Michael Bradley became our beacon of hope. He was an authentic, organic success who turned Toronto FC into the team we were promised in 2007 and now yearn for in 2023.

Talent, passion, without egos or T-shirt deals. Just love for the club and the associated achievements.

Let me explain.

To understand the importance and uniqueness of Michael Bradley, you must first understand Toronto FC. TFC was introduced to the MLS in 2007 (the aforementioned Mo Johnston era) and was immediately popular in a sports-obsessed city, with a large immigrant population.

Although Toronto had football teams before, none were on the level of TFC. The club is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), which also owns the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), Toronto Raptors (NBA), Toronto Argonauts (CFL), Toronto Marlies (AHL), Raptors 905 (NBA G League), as well as a handful of esports teams. MLSE saw TFC’s potential and invested in the club; they built it and the fans came.

At least for a while.

In TFC’s early seasons, the tickets were similar in demand to Leafs tickets. The games sold out and Toronto’s small Liberty Village neighborhood became an adopted home base for football fans.

But the novelty soon wore off.

TFC did not win, their star players faded and the relationship between the fans and the club’s top management quickly deteriorated. Perhaps a familiar story for current fans.

Anyway, MLSE knew they had to fix the club and in 2014 TFC got big promises and big names, which resulted in a damn big deal.

It was 2014, the year of Jermaine Defoe. The club had signed a famous footballer, still in his prime, who wanted to play for one of the worst top clubs in the world (statistically speaking). Defoe came to save Toronto and the club had a marketing campaign to prove it.

It was also the year of Michael Bradley.

However, he was only an afterthought in Defoe’s press frenzy. Yes, Bradley signed on as a DP and yes, he was featured in marketing materials, but he wasn’t a big deal. He wasn’t even a mid-market deal. That same year, Toronto’s homegrown hero Dwayne DeRosario re-signed with Toronto and other MLS stalwarts such as Justin Morrow were announced.

Heck, even Brazilian goalkeeper Júlio César was loaned to TFC for a short period in 2014!

Bradley was, all things considered, a nice addition, but certainly not a huge deal.

Turns out he was going to be the biggest damn deal.

And I think that’s why this retirement announcement is so difficult. Because no one ever thought it would be this hard.

By all accounts, Michael Bradley should not have been a success in Toronto, let alone the legend he is today. An American coming to Toronto, via Italy, was not the selling point it is today. Bradley began to be seen as a journeyman, bouncing from club to club, league to league. What interest or loyalty would he offer Toronto? And while a Roma player was positive in the eyes of many fans, the American captain raised eyebrows for Patriot supporters with a chip on their shoulder for their southern neighbors.

What Toronto wanted and needed was an immediate impact in 2014. That meant flashy goals and highlights worth watching.

We didn’t get that.

Instead we got Bradley’s calm, calculated and commanding nature, talent without ego, impact without flash. A true general: someone who cared more about the club than his individual career.

And that’s why Bradley is so important to Toronto: as a player, as a captain and as a teammate, it has never been about him. It was about the club. He played for the badge, not the influence. He cared about Toronto and Toronto cared about him.

With Toronto’s most recent season fresh in our minds, it’s sometimes hard to remember the impact the captain has had on the club over the past nine years.

Under Bradley’s leadership, Toronto FC became MLS Cup winners, Supporters’ Shield winners, multiple Canadian Championship winners and almost Concacaf Champions League winners (lost on penalties, one missed by Bradley himself, in 2018).

Under Bradley’s leadership, TFC regained the respect of a sports-obsessed city that had no choice about teams in other sports. Toronto also became a team to beat (and dare I say fear) in the league and across the continent. They became winners, title holders and models of MLS success.

Under Bradley’s leadership, TFC went from dysfunctional to thriving. The trio of Bradley, fellow countryman Jozy Altidore and fellow countryman Sebastian Giovinco is considered one of the best sports trifectas in Toronto sports history, possibly in MLS history.

Under Bradley’s guidance, his own career has flourished, playing over 300 games with Toronto in all competitions, is the longest-serving captain in TFC history and was recently inducted as a Toronto FC Legend, chosen by the TFC support sections.

But even under Bradley’s leadership, TFC went from best to worst in the blink of an eye.

When we think about his retirement, it is easier to reminisce about his achievements. But we also need to look at his mistakes, and worse, his “what could have happened?”

And maybe that’s another reason why his retirement is so hard to accept: it feels like there was so much more potential for him in Toronto.

For example, what if he didn’t get injured and played a full 2023 season? Could he have turned the team around again?

How would he have worked with his father, Bob Bradley, who was signed and fired by Toronto FC as head coach this season? Could he have bridged the locker room before the team fell apart?

And what about his impact on his teammates, especially the current Italian DP signings? Bradley’s best game of the season, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over Charlotte FC, saw both Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi involved with assists. Bradley, who speaks fluent Italian (in addition to English, Dutch, German and Spanish), would certainly have had a positive impact on the underperforming Italians had he been on the pitch with him. Was Bradley the missing piece for everything that was lost in translation – literally and figuratively – this season?

And of course the most important question: where do we go without our captain, without his leadership and without vision?

For Bradley himself, his future seems pretty clear. He recently joined Stabæk as an assistant coach, rejoining his father, who is currently head coach of the Norwegian team. If his leadership on the sidelines is even a fraction of his leadership on the field, Bradley will be coaching in no time. But only time will tell.

But for now, it’s time to come to terms with the fact that Bradley is no longer a Red.

Bradley will forever be remembered by Toronto FC fans as someone who led us to the top of the league and stayed with us in the depths of hell. Despite how this season ended, we remember everything he did for our club, for our logo and for us. He is our captain and forever a Red.

Thanks, Michael Bradley. And may we meet again soon.

You never know. I mean, even Geri eventually rejoined the Spice Girls.