COLUMBUS -- If there was a time for any man to be boastful about his son, this was it.
After all, it isn't every day that your son scores twice in a World Cup qualifying game, let alone against archrival Mexico.
But this is much more complicated than than just a father saying how proud he is about his son.
The father is Bob Bradley, coach of the U.S. national team. The son, Michael, a midfielder on the team that defeated the Mexicans for the third consecutive time in this city by a 2-0 score.
Beyond Michael becoming only the fourth U.S. player to score two goals against Mexico in qualifiers dating back to 1934, Michael played a fine all-around game as holding midfielder, helping key a midfield that dominated the Mexicans.
But when he was asked whether he was proud of his son's performance, Bob did his best to downplay the question.
"Right now I'm the coach, it's about the team," he said during Wednesday night's postgame press conference after watching his team outbattle the Mexicans and the wind at Columbus Crew Stadium. "When you coach at a professional level there's a way that you want to do the work. There is an environment that you create and you want to establish a high level of being a pro in terms of what the right mentality is. The one thing that happens with Michael is that he gets a steady dose of that, not only when he's in with the team but in terms of the father-son relationship that we've had.
"I have three children and I have to say that I'm proud of all my kids. I have a great family and I'm a lucky man."
Bob Bradley doesn't like to single out or talk about his son. He has been walking a tightrope about the subject since 2004, when as the MetroStars coach, he selected 16-year-old Michael 36th overall in the MLS SuperDraft. Michael had just completed his time at the U.S. under-17 residency camp in Bradenton, Fla. He was ready for the next challenge -- professional soccer.
Michael was hampered by an injury in 2004, but became the starting defensive midfielder the next season. Ironically, he did not score his first professional goal until after Bob was dismissed as coach, in a playoff-clinching victory against Chivas USA in the regular-season finale.
Some MetroStars fans felt there was nepotism involved. The same thing happened when Michael started to play for his father on the national team in 2007. Hence, Bob not trying to boost or boast about his son.
A few years ago, there was a rare comment about how proud Bob was of Michael after he joined Heerenveen of the Dutch Eredivisie (Michael currently performs for Borussia Moenchengladbach in the German Bundesliga).
"I am happy for him," Bob said. "To go to a club in Europe and to establish yourself very quickly, earn the respect of the coaches and your teammates, so that you're playing and starting in the most important games of the season, that says a lot.
"For me, it's just with what we saw the last two years, especially last year. He's got a strong mentality, understands the game. He plays well beyond his years. I really felt that last year as the season moved along that he got stronger and stronger. And that's not something you see that often with young players in MLS, especially with ones who are asked to cover that much ground and be a factor in the center of the field, where things are really hard."
In many ways, they are so much alike and the similarities are not lost on Michael's teammates.
"He and his dad are just alike," said former New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore, who helped set up Michael's second goal Wednesday. "Bob's just a bit older than him. On soccer they're both very intense. They have so much passion for the game. They really just eat, breath and sleep soccer.
"Michael loves the game. He loves talking about it. He loves talking about new ideas. The subject for them never gets old. And it's really refreshing to see that in American players and coaches. I think he's a great kid, has a great head on his shoulders and loves to work hard. What more can you ask?"
When asked about his performance against Mexico, Michael Bradley spoke of the team, rather than himself.
"I think everyone on our team was really excited to play tonight," he said. "Anytime you can play against Mexico it's great, it's also a really important World Cup qualifier. To be a part of a team effort like that and come away with three points is a great feeling."
When pressed about how he felt personally, Michael responded, "I'm happy we won. We got three points and we beat Mexico so that's important."
The thing is that he's only 21 years old and still learning the beautiful game. But already Michael Bradley has left his mark. With Heerenveen in 2007-08, he scored 21 goals, the most by an U.S. player in Europe.
On Wednesday night, Michael went into the U.S. history books as the fourth man to tally twice against Mexico in a qualifier. He joined Aldo "Buff" Donelli (hat trick in a 4-2 win in a 1934 qualifier), Eddie Murphy (in a 7-2 loss in a 1962 qualifier) and former California Surf and New York Cosmos forward Steve Moyer (in a 2-1 win in a 1982 qualifier) in this exclusive club. This from a player who had scored three goals in 25 previous matches prior to Wednesday night.
His performance certainly left his teammates impressed.
"It's great," said Landon Donovan, who set up both U.S. goals. "People forget he does a lot of hard work. He gets in [passing] lanes. ... He's dangerous going forward. He's a good, smart player."
Added goalkeeper Tim Howard, who survived a nasty hit by Mexican defender Rafael Marquez to record a shutout: "I think he was fantastic, aside from the goals. He was up and down the field, side to side, staying in the tackles, winning balls, collecting second balls. He did everything right."
Howard said that Bob "probably demands more of [Michael]. He treats us all equally. We trust all in the relationship that we have with Michael as a teammate and that Bob Bradley has with Michael as a player. We trust in our relationship. Michael doesn't take any short cuts. He is the hardest working guy on the team. He demands a lot of himself, which I think is the epitome of a big-time player, which I think Michael will be."
Perhaps someday Michael will accomplish something so grand (a national team hat trick or a spectacular or dramatic game-winning goal, maybe?) that we'll hear the father and not just the coach speak.
Until then, we'll have to let Michael's actions speak for themselves.
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