So I got to meet Michael Bradley tonight.

Really nice guy.

Before the Chievo game we tried to find where the players would be entering the stadium. One of the stewards directed us to the wrong side of the stadium, so we missed them. After the game the same steward saw us and brought us to a gated area where the players were coming out of the dressing room. I think the area was mostly for special groups of people, ie friends and family. There was a group of physically and mentally disabled fans as well, in addition to some randos.

Michael took about 30 minutes to come out and was by far one of the more popular players with the fans. He was very friendly in signing autographs for people, taking photos, etc. He was very naturally speaking in Italian with the fans, which was pretty neat to see.

As he was about to leave (you could tell he was a bit tired and trying to get back to the team bus) I got his attention and told him that me and a friend had come from the US to see him play and we were wondering if we could bother him for a photo before he left. His response: "Pssh, of course!"

He shook my hand and asked us what we were doing in Europe. I explained my situation here and how recently I had gotten to see Clint and Jozy play as well. He told me he thought that that was neat. We took a picture.

I didn't want to take up any more of his time so I didn't bother asking him the long list of questions that I wish I could ask a USMNTer, but I asked how his dad was doing and I really saw his face light up at the question. He said he was doing really well, and thanks for asking. I told him that we all were glad to see him doing so well with Egypt, and he thanked me and said he really appreciated it.

Before he left we told him thanks again for his time and good luck with qualifiers. He said thanks and headed to the bus. I didn't get him to sign anything, but the experience of meeting him was good enough, so I can't complain.

I really like Bradley. Not just as a player but as a person as well. He took the time to chat with a lot of the disabled fans, and it was obvious that he knew several of them by name.

Yeah yeah, CSB. Anyway, I'm looking forward to cheering him on when the WCQs start.

Lastly, his hands are really soft. Like, surprisingly so. He must use moisturizer.