The Most Important US Player Is... Michael Bradley?

I read a lot about how US chances at the cup hinge on Donovan and Dempsey coming up big. While it's true that we're screwed if they play poorly, I think there's another player who will dictate how those two end up performing. That player is Michael Bradley.

The internet is full of Bradley haters. I read at least once a day that he's only on the team because his dad is the coach. Well, regardless of the reasons, he's on the team and will be playing the ever important central midfield role. In my opinion, he's a very natural defensive mid who can occasionally bomb forward into attack and do some pretty impressive long shooting. But that's not what we need him for. We have Ricardo Clark and Maurice Edu for that. We need MB to play with vision and control. No one's asking him to be Xavi, but he needs to be more than just disruptive to the other team. He needs to be strong defensively but also have enough control to transition the ball into attack.

Why is this so important? Simply put, if MB can't transition the ball into attack, Donovan will have to track back do it, and Donovan's at his best when he's got the ball moving forward. If Donovan doesn't get the ball moving forward, he won't be there to put shots on goal or to support Jozy and Dempsey and the other guys we're relying on to score. We're never going to be the kind of team that possesses the ball for 65% of the game, but if Bradley can show some control, minimize the errant first touches, and send some good passes to attackers running onto the ball, it will free up our best players to play the way they like to play.

Is this a sure-fire way to upset England in the opening match? Probably not. A lot of things have to go right for that to happen. But against Slovenia and Algeria, teams we should beat, a smart and efficient showing from Bradley will be the difference between dictating the pace and spending the game back on our heels.