Bradley Fired as Coach of U.S. Soccer Team
Bob Bradley has been fired as coach of the United States national soccer team, the president of the United States Soccer Federation, Sunil Gulati, said in a statement Thursday.
Bob Bradley compiled a 43-25-12 record in five years with the men's national team.
After the United States reached the second round of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Bradley’s contract was extended through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But the Americans were routed, 4-0, by Spain in a friendly in June, then were swamped, 4-2, by Mexico in the Concacaf Gold Cup final.
Fairly or unfairly, frequent criticisms of Bradley began to resurface: he was too conservative, favored players like his son Michael, did not develop a sufficiently creative attacking style, and coached a team that often fell behind early and had to catch up using fitness and determination rather than technical skill.
Bradley achieved some impressive results while building a 43-25-12 record since 2007, including a defeat of top-ranked Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup, where the Americans finished second to Brazil, and finishing atop group play at the 2010 World Cup. Still, there was a sense of underachievement about the World Cup, given the favorable draw for the United States, which departed with a sense of missed opportunity.
“We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years,” Gulati said in a statement. “During his time as the head coach of our men’s national team, he led the team to a number of accomplishments, but we felt now was the right time for us to make a change. It is always hard to make these decisions, especially when it involves someone we respect as much as Bob. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Before Bradley was hired in 2007, the United States sought to hire Jürgen Klinsmann, the former German star and national team coach, but Klinsmann turned down the job, saying he would not have been given what he considered sufficient control of the American team. He has since said that he might reconsider.
Bradley’s firing will ignite the debate about whether the United States team should be coached by an American or could flourish under a foreign coach. Some, like Bruce Arena, the former national team coach, have said an American coach is necessary to understand the American mentality.
Klinsmann Named U.S. Soccer Coach
After courting him twice without success, the United States Soccer Federation on Friday hired Jürgen Klinsmann to coach the men’s national team.
Klinsmann, a former German star who coached Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup, becomes the first foreign-born coach of the American team since Bora Milutinovic, a Serb, guided the Americans to the second round of the 1994 World Cup.
Unlike Steve Sampson, Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley, his immediate predecessors, Klinsmann was a top player at the highest levels of international soccer. He scored 47 goals in 108 appearances with the German national team and played a key role in West Germany’s victory in the 1990 World Cup.
He was hired a day after Bradley was fired and will coach his first match with the United States in a friendly against Mexico on Aug. 10 in Philadelphia.
Klinsmann takes over an American team that reached the second round of the 2010 World Cup but departed with a sense of missed opportunity and seemed to stagnate this summer in a 4-0 rout by Spain and a 4-2 loss to Mexico in the final of the Concacaf Gold Cup after a first-round loss to Panama.
Presumably, Klinsmann, who turn 47 Saturday, has worked out the issues of wanting full control of the national team, a matter that he has said led to stalled talks between him and the national federation in 2006 and 2010.
Bob Bradley has been fired as coach of the United States national soccer team, the president of the United States Soccer Federation, Sunil Gulati, said in a statement Thursday.
Bob Bradley compiled a 43-25-12 record in five years with the men's national team.
After the United States reached the second round of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Bradley’s contract was extended through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But the Americans were routed, 4-0, by Spain in a friendly in June, then were swamped, 4-2, by Mexico in the Concacaf Gold Cup final.
Fairly or unfairly, frequent criticisms of Bradley began to resurface: he was too conservative, favored players like his son Michael, did not develop a sufficiently creative attacking style, and coached a team that often fell behind early and had to catch up using fitness and determination rather than technical skill.
Bradley achieved some impressive results while building a 43-25-12 record since 2007, including a defeat of top-ranked Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup, where the Americans finished second to Brazil, and finishing atop group play at the 2010 World Cup. Still, there was a sense of underachievement about the World Cup, given the favorable draw for the United States, which departed with a sense of missed opportunity.
“We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years,” Gulati said in a statement. “During his time as the head coach of our men’s national team, he led the team to a number of accomplishments, but we felt now was the right time for us to make a change. It is always hard to make these decisions, especially when it involves someone we respect as much as Bob. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Before Bradley was hired in 2007, the United States sought to hire Jürgen Klinsmann, the former German star and national team coach, but Klinsmann turned down the job, saying he would not have been given what he considered sufficient control of the American team. He has since said that he might reconsider.
Bradley’s firing will ignite the debate about whether the United States team should be coached by an American or could flourish under a foreign coach. Some, like Bruce Arena, the former national team coach, have said an American coach is necessary to understand the American mentality.
Klinsmann Named U.S. Soccer Coach
After courting him twice without success, the United States Soccer Federation on Friday hired Jürgen Klinsmann to coach the men’s national team.
Klinsmann, a former German star who coached Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup, becomes the first foreign-born coach of the American team since Bora Milutinovic, a Serb, guided the Americans to the second round of the 1994 World Cup.
Unlike Steve Sampson, Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley, his immediate predecessors, Klinsmann was a top player at the highest levels of international soccer. He scored 47 goals in 108 appearances with the German national team and played a key role in West Germany’s victory in the 1990 World Cup.
He was hired a day after Bradley was fired and will coach his first match with the United States in a friendly against Mexico on Aug. 10 in Philadelphia.
Klinsmann takes over an American team that reached the second round of the 2010 World Cup but departed with a sense of missed opportunity and seemed to stagnate this summer in a 4-0 rout by Spain and a 4-2 loss to Mexico in the final of the Concacaf Gold Cup after a first-round loss to Panama.
Presumably, Klinsmann, who turn 47 Saturday, has worked out the issues of wanting full control of the national team, a matter that he has said led to stalled talks between him and the national federation in 2006 and 2010.
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