Bradley gets ‘interim’ tag as U.S. soccer coach
When it came down to it, Bob Bradley practiced what he preached.
And for the U.S. men’s national soccer team, it means a dose of familiarity after Bradley, 48, was appointed interim coach Friday, replacing his good friend Bruce Arena and forcing him to step down from his post with Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.
“I think I always say to the players that I coach, when certain moments come, you take advantage, you can’t look back, you can’t be afraid, that’s what life’s all about,” said Bradley, who has been an assistant under Arena. “If that’s a risk, so be it.”
Bradley, who took the job after former German star player Juergen Klinsmann dropped out of the running Thursday after months of negotiations with U.S. Soccer, has a window of about five months to convince federation higher-ups that he would be an excellent choice for a permanent promotion.
The MLS’ all-time winningest coach, who also will guide the U.S. under-23 team as it tries to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, certainly seems to have the support of the players.
“For me, I’m ready and hoping to help Bob get rid of that interim tag,” said Galaxy forward Landon Donovan, a two-time U.S. World Cup veteran. “With all due respect to Juergen, I think Bob is a better choice. He’s earned his chance to be the coach, and I wouldn’t want him gone after a few months.”
Klinsmann, who coached his native Germany to a surprising third-place finish at last summer’s World Cup, clearly was U.S. Soccer’s first choice but couldn’t strike a deal after failing to see eye to eye with federation President Sunil Gulati on key issues.
Gulati would not detail their differences, but he dismissed reports that the negotiations broke down because of disagreements over power or money.
“I’ve read a lot of the things that have been written in the last five months,” Gulati said. “Everything from we had a handshake agreement in Germany, to we had a done deal, to that he wanted millions of euros, that we wouldn’t give up power, that it was a commercial issue between two very large sporting manufacturers -- almost all of that is nonsense.”
With Klinsmann out of the picture, Gulati said there are two other coaches in Europe, whom he would not identify, that remain interested in the U.S. job but wouldn’t be able to take over until the late spring.
One candidate could be Manchester United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz, a native of Portugal, who has a familiarity with the American team having written the Q-Report in the 1990s on youth development in the U.S.
Bradley’s first task will be to prepare for a training camp in the first week of January as the U.S. team builds toward a Jan. 20 game against Denmark at the Home Depot Center and a Feb. 7 game against Mexico in Phoenix.
Chivas USA also will begin a search for a coach and would like to have someone in place in the next few weeks. Martin Vasquez and Preki, Bradley’s assistants last season, figure to be among the candidates considered.
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