re: What has happened to Michael Bradley?

quote:

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and mentally slow. he has lost a step in his decision making and it makes a big difference when he's sitting back b/c his positioning and passing are in the danger zone. small mistakes lead to big responses

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Exactly. This is what I was trying to point out more than anything in the OP, but you said it better. It's what I've noticed more than anything with his play for a while now. His lack of awareness of the opposing defenders trying to get the ball off of him has gotten really bad. It seems to happen constantly - right before he's about to spray a long ball towards the sideline or hit a pass to play someone through on goal, he's robbed of the ball from a player he didn't know was there and the break is on going the other way.

I don't watch a ton of MLS games but I caught a half of the SKC v FC Dallas match the other day and the amount of time the players have to make a decision on a pass or shot is incredible. Also just the intensity of the players and fans in general was lightyears away from what I'm used to seeing on my TV from the soccer in Europe. Now imagine going from that to playing against Argentina/Columbia etc. That tenth of a second in sports at this level makes all the difference. Every case with every player is different, but it looks pretty clear cut to me that coming back home really has made him a worse player. And it sucks.

Turns out Jurgen was right