Michael Bradley will captain U.S. men's national team in Gold Cup
Michael Bradley will replace Clint Dempsey as the U.S. men's national team's captain for the upcoming Gold Cup, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced Thursday.
Dempsey was shown a red card for ripping up a referee's notebook in a U.S. Open Cup match while playing for the Seattle Sounders last month and suspended three league games. He will, however, be allowed to play in the Gold Cup. Klinsmann later called the incident “something that nobody wants to see” and said he would speak with Dempsey.
“I had a very, very good conversation with Clint about what happened during the Open Cup, but also about how we want to approach things,” Klinsmann said in an interview with the American soccer federation's website published Thursday. “For the time being we thought it’s the best thing to give the captaincy to Michael Bradley and let Clint focus on what he’s all about. Clint is about scoring goals. We need Clint Dempsey badly with the National Team. We need him in a good spirit. What happened was a mistake, but it was the first red card in his career and a lot of people went at him.”
Bradley, 27, will make his 100th career appearance with the national team during the Gold Cup.
The U.S. begins its Gold Cup campaign on July 7 against Honduras.
- Dan Gartland
