Michael Bradley to BBC: ‘If the first game were in Cairo, I’d be there’

In the BBC’s World Football podcast released on Friday, United States and AS Roma midfielder Michael Bradley spoke at length about his club’s excellent start to the season and his father, Bob Bradley, coaching the Egyptian national team.

Here is a full transcript of the interview, which begins near the start of the podcast.

BBC (1:53 mark of the podcast): “Despite suffering an ankle injury, the USA international has been reveling in the team’s excellent run.”

Michael Bradley: “I think what you’ve seen over the past few years here at the club is that they’ve built a strong foundation for the future. Unfortunately, there have been times in the past few years where the results haven’t been what everybody had hoped. To then cap that off by losing the Italian Cup final last year to Lazio was a massive disappointment for anybody involved with the club.

“But beneath that disappointment was still a strong foundation for the future. So I think the club did very well in the summer to assess the situation, to decide which players were needed here, to decide which players had value in the transfer market, and they really did a good job of now finding the right coach, allowing him the chance to work with players who he wanted, and so far this season, what you’re seeing is the fruit of all that work.”

BBC: “The Coppa Italia final, where Roma lost to Lazio: Is it too much to say that that was an embarrassment or humiliation — just the fact that they lost to Lazio?”

MB: ” ‘Embarrassment’ and ‘humiliation’ are not words that I would use. We all know what football at the highest level is like, especially then, when you get to a final. It’s all about who, on the day, is able to make a play. The margin between winning and losing is so fine. Certainly, losing to our biggest rivals in the final of a cup, allowing them to lift that trophy in front of us, in front of our fans — I think, when I speak to my friends, who are Romans [and] supporters of the club, you’re talking about one of the darkest days in the history of the club, without a doubt.

“But from disappointment and from failure to win a cup like that comes even more determination and commitment. As I said, there’s a group of players and coaches here this year that are determined to put that right.”

BBC: “Explain how fierce this rivalry actually is.”

MB: “It’s difficult to describe to anybody, honestly, outside of Rome, outside of Italy. The only thing you can tell somebody is to come to the stadium one day and see it. Actually, better off coming to the stadium, to Rome, the week of that game, and you start to feel and start to understand what this means for the people.”

BBC: “Talk to me about Francesco Totti. I mean, he’s been here for nearly as long as you’ve been alive. Explain how much of a legend he is at this club.”

MB: “He’s the symbol for this club. He’s the symbol for every Roman, for every fan. For every person who’s grown up in this city, who’s dreamed of playing professional football, he is the idol, the symbol, the example. He obviously grew up in Rome. He’s never left. He’s won the Scudetto, he’s won Italian Cups, and really, more than anything, what people here have so much respect for him about is his loyalty. Through a career where, really, [he was] one of the best players in the world, with the opportunity to go to the biggest clubs — Real Madrid — he always chose to stay loyal to this city, to these colors, to his club. So in those ways, he is somebody who is a legend.”

BBC: “I’d just like to ask you about your dad [former U.S. head coach Bob Bradley]. He’s developed something of a hero status after going to coach the Egypt national team and refusing to leave the country, even amid all of the post-revolutionary turmoil that’s been going on there. What’s your view of his attitude and his steadfast support of the Egyptian people and their football fans?”

MB: “Incredibly proud. Incredibly proud of him, of my mother — who is there with him — and their commitment to finishing what he started. He went there with the idea, with the dream, of taking Egypt to the World Cup. In the midst of all the instability in their country, in the midst of the revolution, in the midst of massacres, in the midst of so much trouble in their country, they have managed to keep a group of guys focused and committed on really, the dream of the entire country.

“I think it’s in these ways, in these moments, that we’re all able to see how powerful football is. I mean, a country like that, with so much turmoil, maybe the only thing thing that the Egyptians can agree on is their love and support for the national team and how the dream is to see them back in a World Cup.”

BBC: “Do you ever worry about your old man and your mom?”

MB: “No. The Egyptian people have been incredible to them. There’s not been a day where they feel in any way unsafe or not at home. They’ve grown to really like Cairo. The people, as I said, have been great to them, and so we’re excited for what they’re doing and hoping that they can finish off this dream.”

BBC: “They’re two games away from doing that. You’re injured at the moment, so you can’t play in the next league fixture here or for the States in their final World Cup qualifiers. Are you tempted to go to Ghana and join your dad in the first leg of their World Cup qualifier?”

MB: “If the first game were in Cairo, I’d be there for sure. Ghana might be a little bit more difficult to get to, but I’ll be watching and cheering like every other Egyptian that day.”

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