TFC captain Michael Bradley says a lot by saying nothing

Michael Bradley has always faced the music during tough times at Toronto FC.

In the aftermath of TFC’s embarrassing playoff loss to Montreal in 2015, while the rest of his teammates retreated to the safety of the team bus to ensure they avoided talking to the media, Bradley made it a point to stick around in an empty locker room at Stade Saputo in order to field questions from reporters who were looking for answers after such a diabolical performance.

Nor did Bradley cower in the aftermath of Toronto’s inexplicable loss to the Seattle Sounders at home in the 2016 MLS Cup final – he sat in his locker room stall while the press horde stood over him and peppered him with questions about why things went wrong on the night. After the Reds’ heartbreaking loss to Chivas in the 2018 Concacaf Champions League final, Bradley stopped to talk to reporters in the mixed zone, rather than casually walk past them like many of his teammates did, even though he failed to convert in the penalty shootout.