Red Bull New York coach Michael Bradley explains how Jurgen Klopp targeted him early

Michael Bradley spoke fondly of Red Bull chiefs Jurgen Klopp and Mario Gomez at his first press conference as Red Bull New York coach amid excitement for the MLS seaosn

Michael Bradley coached New York Red Bulls II to a MLS Next Pro championship last yaer(Image: Getty Images)

No, new Red Bull New York — get the team's new name correct — coach Michael Bradley doesn't have deep ties to the Red Bull German/Austrian sporting empire.

Perhaps that's what makes the 38-year-old's hiring so interesting: what did Red Bull head of global soccer Jurgen Klopp and technical director Mario Gomez see in the former USMNT midfielder?

Answering a question from Liverpool.com at New York's media day on a wet Wednesday afternoon, Bradley detailed how Klopp and Red Bull targeted him while he was working as an assistant coach in Sweden and maintained a relationship with him up until he was named coach in 2026.

"I have very good relationships with both Jurgen and Mario," Bradley said. "I’m here thanks to a lot of people, and they are two of them."

"When I was done as an assistant coach of Norway in November of 2024 (working under his father, Bob Bradley, for Sabaek), the first person I spoke to was Mario," he said. "It was not long after Jurgen had got the job as head of global soccer."

"It wasn’t anything official at my end, but it was a chance to connect with Mario, and hear a bit from him of where things were headed," Bradley continued, before mentioning that Joachim Loew and New York sporting director Julian de Guzman became involved.

By this point, Bradley was appointed head of New York Red Bulls II in MLS Next Pro, his first full-time coaching gig.

"In February, when Jurgen, Joachim, and Mario came through New York as they were giving Jurgen an initial look at some of the Red Bull clubs, I had an opportunity to spend the morning with those guys. What an opportunity that was."

Michael Bradley speaks to Liverpool.com at Red Bulls media day(Image: Liverpool.com/US Mirror)

Bradley has some long-term ties to German football. He was a linchpin in Borussia Mönchengladbach's midfield from 2008 to 2011. He played under legendary German football manager Jurgen Klinsmann for the USMNT from 2011 to 2016.

Besides that, he was a relative outsider: RBNY's last coach was longtime Bundesliga boss Sandro Schwarz, who took the club all the way to the MLS Cup final in 2024.

When Schwarz was relieved of his duties after the team failed to make the playoffs in 2025 for the first time since 2009, Bradley was promoted. Now, he's. happy to tow the company's Red Bull playing philosophy.

"The part of how Jurgen sees the game [is really exciting]," Bradley admitted. "His vision for Red Bull going forward, how he wants to take the essence and fabric of what Red Bull football always has been, in terms of the intensity, the pressing, the counter-pressing, the aggression, and how he wants to combine that with football, with ideas of creating chances, in playing in a way that’s more entertaining [aligns with mine]."

"That fits to a tee with how I see the game and my ideas. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them and the vision that they have for Red Bull football club.."