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Not much is new to Michael Bradley.
With 140 caps for the United States men’s national team and spells in the Netherlands, Germany, England and Italy – as well as Major League Soccer – under his belt, the Toronto FC captain has seen a lot.
But while Bradley is no stranger to the challenges posed by the nations of CONCACAF, this season’s Champions League marks his first taste of the region at club level.
It’s something he has been looking forward to for a while.
“This is a great tournament,” Bradley said ahead of Toronto’s last-16 second leg against the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday. “It’s an opportunity for us to test ourselves against some of the best teams in the region.
“It’s something that a group of us have been talking about for a few years now and now that we finally have our chance, we’re determined to really give ourselves a chance to be playing until the end.”
Bradley’s excitement is a product of the work that has been done in Toronto to get to this point – and the belief that this team can be the first from MLS to win the Champions League in its modern format.
Fresh off a record-breaking season in which they won every trophy on offer to them, general manager Tim Bezbatchenko has further strengthened the roster by signing fullbacks Gregory van der Wiel and Auro, along with midfield playmaker Ager Aketxe.
The Reds beat Colorado on aggregate, winning a frozen first leg on the outskirts of Denver 2-0 and then playing to a 0-0 draw at BMO Field. Now, their road to the Champions League final is brutal. Mexico’s Tigres, the consensus favorites, will be waiting in the quarterfinals and Club America is the probable opponent in the last four.
Liga MX teams have won 13 of the 15 ties they have played against MLS clubs over the past five editions of the tournament, but Bradley believes the tide is turning.
“The league has grown in huge ways since I’ve come back,” Bradley reflected. “And it continues to grow in big ways.
“It’s unique in that sense, because the growth and the improvement just on a year-to-year basis is massive. We talk about that a lot: this idea that if you don’t find the right ways to improve and get better and make your team better, then even as [MLS] champions from last year, nothing’s guaranteed this year. Not even close.
“The understanding from everybody here is to take what we have built and continue to work with humility, with motivation, with excitement to make sure we’re not standing still, we’re continuing to push the envelope at the highest levels – that motivation on our part is huge.”
Bradley said the team’s fresh faces are coming into a perfect situation with a core of seasoned players who have been together for a number of years. He called the strength of the squad “incredible.” He also noted the diversity within the roster allows for any type of player to seamlessly integrate.
“When you look at the dynamic inside our locker room, we have English, we have Spanish, we have French, we have Italian, we have a little bit of Portuguese – we’ve got it all covered,” Bradley said. “I think it’s impossible not to fit into our group. When new guys come in, they feel that and also they understand that they’re coming into a team and a club that has high standards in every way.
“I think they realize quickly that that’s fun. To be in a team, at a club, where now the bar is set so high. To compete for every trophy. To win every game. Guys realize that they better hop on board because if not, we’re going regardless.”