00:00Red Bull New York, they've kicked off their 2026 training camp and preseason.
00:04We're actually under a month away before they open their season down in Orlando.
00:10Former Team USA captain and new Red Bulls head coach, Michael Bradley,
00:14joins us from sunny Florida to talk all things hashtag RBY.
00:19Coach Bradley, man, I'm a little upset that you guys are enjoying all that weather down there in Florida.
00:25Left us up here with the snowstorm.
00:27But appreciate you jumping on.
00:28Let's get straight into this because camp is rolling.
00:31You guys got your first preseason match under your belt since taking over.
00:35I guess what's the first month been like as Red Bulls head coach?
00:41It's been incredible in every way.
00:44I'm really proud, really excited.
00:50The players have been incredible.
00:54It's a really, really fun group to work with.
00:56They have taken new ideas and a new way of training and have really just gone with it.
01:07And so, you know, for nine days into preseason, we feel really good about where things are.
01:12Obviously, we've got still another month to go before the season starts.
01:17And we're going to take advantage of every day so we can be at our best when things get going.
01:22I love your ties to the organization.
01:25I just, I mean, I'm throwing back to when I was a young guy watching, you know, soccer.
01:29Michael Bradley is a huge name.
01:31And now that you're, you know, you're taking over a team that missed the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
01:37That snapped the longest streak in MLS.
01:39What would you say is the biggest change you had to or I guess will have to make before the season,
01:45whether it be roster wise, game plan, culture?
01:48I guess it can be anything and why.
01:52Yeah, it's a good question.
01:54You know, obviously, look, I have huge respect for all of the coaches that have come before me in this club.
02:03But I still, I come in with my ideas and my way of trying to build a team and my ideas of how we can put it all together.
02:14And one of the great things about being inside Red Wing is that there is, there are starting points of a very clear identity in terms of how we will play and how we need to play.
02:29And we're going to really push the part of being aggressive and trying to put every team that we play against in a game that they're not used to.
02:40Trying to be a team that can dominate both parts of all sides, all parts of the game.
02:50And we're really excited to now challenge ourselves every week to step on the field and really go for it.
02:57When it comes to coming in and like implementing your culture, do you feel like it's been easier because, one, the success you had while you were playing and because you're still relatively young, you can still kind of, you can relate to the players, you know, because they say it's a young man's game.
03:17But you're able to be, you know, old school and know the new school at the same time.
03:22Yeah, that's exactly, that's the idea.
03:25I joked with a few of the guys the other day, how do we bridge, how do we bridge the old school with the new school?
03:30Just like you said.
03:31So, look, I, the last thing that I'm ever going to do with these guys is spend, spend all my time talking about my experience as a player, because they'd get, they'd get sick of that real quick.
03:44But one of the things that I can do is relate to them, you know, and one of the things that I can do is, is understand in a lot of moments, how they feel or what they're thinking about.
03:54And I will use that to, to my advantage and I will, you know, really try to find good ways to connect with the players and make sure that we, we build something that we're all, we're all proud of and everybody feels a real part of.
04:12Coach, when I see you doing TikTok dances in the locker room after a big win, that's when you're officially new school.
04:21You're from Princeton, New Jersey, you and your father have deep ties to the franchise.
04:26So do you feel like there's a, there's an added pressure on you to come in, have success and win right away?
04:32No, no pressure.
04:38It's a huge opportunity and I'm really excited.
04:42I'm excited to, you know, as a young coach, take the ideas that I have for the game, take the ideas that I have in terms of what it means to, you know, what it means to build, to build a team, to build a culture.
04:55And, and we're going to, we're going to go for it every single day.
04:58You know, I'm not going to, I'm never going to be the guy that's, that's going to spend two seconds worrying about what if this, or what if that, you know, you enjoy the work every day.
05:08You enjoy the part of creating an atmosphere and a culture that, that everybody is excited by and is proud of.
05:14And, you know, I, I feel, I feel good about, I feel good about our chances if we can work like that every single day.
05:22I know the season doesn't officially kick off until late February, but have you thought about how you will celebrate your first win?
05:32I have not right now.
05:34It's, it's all work.
05:35You know, we're, we're one day at a time right now.
05:38You know, as, as I said, the start to preseason and training camp has been really good.
05:44We're excited now for, for a chance tomorrow to, to test ourselves against St. Louis city.
05:50Um, and we just continue one day at a time and let the good days build up.
05:54Um, and obviously as we get closer to the season, then we'll, we'll really start to, to, to hone in on, on some details and make sure that we're, uh, we're ready to go.
06:06Yeah.
06:06I hesitated to ask you that question.
06:08I know when we're in training camp, it's all grind mode.
06:10You got the training camp beard going right now.
06:12You know, I'm sure.
06:13That's right.
06:14That's right.
06:14Fresh lineup for that first game, man.
06:16I, I, I know what you're going through right now.
06:19Last question.
06:20We got the world cup right around the corner.
06:22You've played in it.
06:22You've lived it.
06:23You've had success in it.
06:25You think American soccer culture is ready for the world cup.
06:29It's going to be, it's going to be an incredible summer.
06:32You know, I mean, the world cup is the biggest sporting event in the world.
06:35Uh, you gen, you genuinely feel like the entire world is stopped and watching.
06:43Uh, and so I think for, for anybody who loves the game, for anybody who, uh, you know, has, has played a role at any level.
06:53Um, whether it's as a, as a player, as a coach, as a, as a fan, the members of the media to now have the experience of a home world cup, it's going to be, it's going to be a lot of fun.
07:06And it's going to be something that we're all going to remember for a really long time.
07:10Well, coach, congratulations.
07:12Good luck on the upcoming season.
07:14Uh, I'm sure you'll see me around at some games.
07:16I bring my, my son to some games and, uh, we walk around acting like we know, we, we know what's going on, but appreciate you hopping on with us.
07:25Thanks for having me.
07:26Look forward to seeing you at, uh, at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
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