Mönchen-not-so-glad-bach?

After reports that Monaco, Everton, Middlesbrough and Hamburg were duking it out for the right to sign U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley, it was the unlikely Mönchenbach who won out.

"We are confident that there will be no problems with the medical, and that the deal will be rubber stamped this afternoon," the German club's press officer Micheal Lessenich told Yanks Abroad on Monday.

The move could be an ego boosting one for Bradley, as American keeper Kasey Keller is a beloved figure for 'Gladbach and the fans will surely welcome another Yank with open arms. But professionally, Germany can be a black hole for American players. They don't garner any respect from the club managers, it seems, and they often find themselves struggling to get on the field or mired in the reserves. There are exceptions of course, like Keller and Steve Cherundola who have made a name for themselves in Deutchland, but for every Cherundola their are fifty Kamani Hills.

Bradley finally on the move?

According to the U.K.'s Daily Mirror, Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has targeted Coach's son and time-waster Michael Bradley.

Bradley, who plays for Dutch side Heerenveen, was also rumored to be a target of Freddy Adu's new club Monaco but that move never materialized. Bayer Leverkusen was also reportedly interested in the 21-year-old midfielder.

Monaco double down on American pair

The French press is reporting that AS Monaco of the French First Division is attempting to sign both Michael Bradley and Freddy Adu.

Monaco has reportedly offered over nine dollars to SC Heerenveen for Bradley, and the club's own web site has admitted their interest in Adu. Bologna and Genoa of Italy's Serie A also expressed interest in Adu, but the Monegasque club, whose coach is a former coach of Adu's current club Benfica, may have an edge in the Freddy race.

Meanwhile, Bradley, who broke Brian McBride's single-season record of goals scored by an American in a first division in Europe with 16 for Heerenveen has been the speculation of much interest across Europe. Bayer Leverkusen and Middlesbrough expressed interest in the 20-year-old, although according to the French press the offer was for far less than Monaco was willing to spend.

Monaco, who finished a dismal 12th place in Ligue 1 last season hopes to move up the table next year to avoid slipping into relegation territory and the club has the money to do so.

Middlesbrough make room for Bradley

EPL club Middlesbrough are attempting to unload central midfielder George Boateng to clear room for American defensive midfielder Michael Bradley, according to reports in The Daily Star.

According to the British paper, Bradley's current club Heerenveen would receive £3 million for the 20-year-old Bradley, who is already penciled into the starting line-up for the U.S. Olympic team and in the mix for the 2010 World Cup. His father, of course, is Bob Bradley, head coach of the U.S. national team.

It would be a positive move for Bradley who has been a off the radar for American fans since moving to The Netherlands from New York. Major League Soccer should also consider a swoop for Boateng, 32, if the Ghana-born Dutch footballer is economical. But it is likely that he'll want to return to the Dutch Eredivisie, perhaps in a straight swap to Heerenveen.

Everton after Bradley

The Daily Mirror is reporting that Everton boss David Moyes has his sights set on American midfielder Michael Bradley.

According to the report, Everton is competing with Blackburn for the 20-year-old defensive midfielder and hoping their starting goalkeeper, American Tim Howard, can sway Bradley in the Everton’s direction.

Heerenveen, Bradley’s current club, is asking a reported £4.5million for Bradley.

U.S. into U-20 World Cup quarterfinal

The United States under-20 national team staged an improbable comeback in extra time to score a 2-1 win over Uruguay in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The young Yanks struggled in the first half, as Uruguayan pressure and piss-poor officiating made for a slow go at it in the first 45 minutes. The U.S. faired slightly better in the second half but surrendered a goal in 74th minute, as Luis Suarez capitalized on U.S. keeper Brian Perk spill to give Uruguay the 1-0 lead. But just three minutes from time, Danny Szetela took down a loose ball from a corner kick and crossed to Andre Akpan whose defender, Mathias Cardaccio, slid in and inadvertendly struck it past his keeper.

The own goal leveled the match and it would be a full 17 minutes of extra time before the most unlikeliest of heroes would find the back of the net for the U.S. Michael Bradley, coach's son and nepotism posterboy, finished off a Freddy Adu corner that somehow found him unmarked at the near post, following a blocked shot by Julian Valentin. 2-1 to the US of A and that's how it would finish.

At the final whistle, the Uruguayan players continued to demonstrate the sportsmanship that had guided them throughout the match by starting a shoving match with the U.S. players. Bradley became apoplectic, and had to be talked down by both coach Thomas Rongen and captain Freddy Adu. The scene was a perfect ending to poorly officiated match by match ref Ravshan Irmatov (UZB), who had absolutely no control over the match from the opening whistle and handed out a ridiculous four yellows cards to the U.S. just in the extra time, while ignoring the fouling and diving by the Uruguyans for much of the game. One foul in particular led to the early substitution of talented striker Jozy Altidore, who injured his calf and had to be subbed following a tackle from behind that wasn't even shown a caution.

The U.S. U-20s are into the quarterfinals, where they will face Austria on Saturday, July 14.

Scoring summary
URU – Luis Suarez 73.
USA – Own goal (Mathias Cardaccio) 87.
USA – Michael Bradley 107+.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brian Perk; 5-Nathan Sturgis, 14-Athony Wallace, 16-Julian Valentin, 19-Tony Beltran (17-Gabe Ferrari, 81); 6-Michael Bradley, 7-Danny Szetela, 11-Freddy Adu (c); 8-Robbie Rogers, 12-Josmer Altidore (20-Andre Akpan, 51), 15 – Sal Zizzo (10-Dax McCarty, 54)

URU: 12-Yonaton Irrazabal; 3-Martin Cacere (10-Gerardo Vonder Putten, 117), 5-Roman Marcel, 6-Gary Kagelmacher, 7-Mathias Cardaccio, 8-Damian Suarez (c), 13-Juan Manuel Diaz, 14-Hugo Arismendi, 17-Juan Surraco (11-Elias Figueroa, 108), 18-Luis Suarez (19-Tabare Viudez, 83)

Misconduct Summary:
URU – Hugo Arismendi (caution) 19.
USA – Michael Bradley (caution) 24.
USA – Anthony Wallace (caution) 105.
USA – Julian Valentin (caution) 109.
USA – Freddy Adu (caution) 110.
USA – Gabriel Ferrari (caution) 112.
URU – Roman Marcel (caution) 117.
URU – Mathias Cardaccio (caution) 118.

Patriot of the Pitch© : Michael Bradley

Click here for the FIFA U-20 World Cup bracket