Michael Bradley on Toronto FC: 'We're probably a few trophies short for how good we were'
Rather than talk about the 2016 MLS Cup loss with regret, Bradley looks back on it as an important moment in Toronto FC history.
You always remember your first.
For Michael Bradley, his first of three trips to an MLS Cup final wasn’t a successful one. The 2016 championship game at BMO Field saw the Reds completely dominate proceedings and prevent the Seattle Sounders from registering a single shot on target through 120 minutes. Yet, it was the visitors who ended up hoisting the trophy on a bitterly cold night after a 5-4 penalty shootout win before a sellout crowd of 36,045 spectators in Toronto.
Of course, TFC exacted revenge one year later in the 2017 MLS Cup final when they earned a 2-0 win over Seattle before another sellout at BMO Field in what was the peak of the club’s glory period that also saw it win a Supporters’ Shield and three Canadian Championships during a three-year run.
Bradley was in a reflective mood on Friday as he spoke to the media, roughly 24 hours prior to playing the final game of his career after announcing his plans to retire earlier this week. He talked about his beginning at the MLS outfit, about how some thought he was crazy to leave AS Roma to come to TFC in 2014 when the team was the laughingstock of the league, and about the camaraderie he enjoyed over the years with his TFC teammates, both past and present.
