Bob Bradley Fired as U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team Manager
Bob Bradley was fired as U.S. Men's National Team Manager on Tuesday.
The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Tuesday that Bob Bradley has been “relieved of his duties as the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team.”
U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati made the announcement after meeting with Bradley and U.S. Soccer CEO Dan Flynn at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Gulati was quoted as saying, “We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years. 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.”
Wow. While not exactly a surprising move given the team’s performance in this summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, there was virtually no rumor or speculation of this type. In today’s age of instant media (Twitter), one would think someone could have spilled the beans about an announcement of this magnitude.
Bradley leaves the post of manager with a 43-25-12 record after five years at the helm. His accomplishments include winning the 2007 Gold Cup and finishing second in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Bradley guided the national team to the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. defeated Algeria in an injury-time classic to advance to the second round of the World Cup.
Although the national team produced some breath-taking moments with Bradley as manager, the bottom line is that more was expected of him and the team.
Disappointing losses to Ghana in the World Cup and Mexico in this summer’s Gold Cup led some to believe that Bradley wasn’t able to instill the type of mental toughness in his team necessary to take the proverbial “next step.”
In his defense, Bradley wasn’t helped by the injury to forward Charlie Davies in a tragic car crash the summer before the World Cup. With Davies out of the fold, the U.S. team searched fruitlessly to find a forward with Davies’ speed and ability to stretch the back line of the opposing defense.
However, in international play, only results matter. And Bradley didn’t produce.
