Bob Bradley's Future With US Soccer

JOHANNESBURG -- Bob Bradley's contract as U.S. national team coach expires at year's end, but the questions about whether he will stay in charge until then or beyond -- and whether he even wants to -- already are being raised less than 48 hours after the round-of-16 loss to Ghana that eliminated the Americans from the World Cup.

Bradley, understandably, found it difficult to consider his long-term future while the disappointment was so fresh. But he did say that, instinctively, part of him was already was looking forward to the friendly against Brazil scheduled for Aug. 10 at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

"When one game ends, as a coach, you start thinking about the next one, believe it or not," he told reporters. "You start thinking about the timing of the game, is it a single fixture date, how does it fall into the calendar of the different clubs. A lot of those thoughts have already been running through my head."

But there have been several other indications that Bradley won't be back, both from comments made by him and U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati and because of issues related to the team's performance here and its future.

-- Signing on for another four-year cycle is a significant commitment from both the coach and U.S. Soccer. Coaches and their messages get stale, (see Bruce Arena circa 2006) and programs of all kinds can benefit from new ideas and perspectives. Even successful World Cup coaches often move on after the tournament.


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-- Bradley may miss the club environment, where he can interact with players year-round. Building those relationships and that sort of tight team atmosphere is something he clearly enjoys, while the scrutiny and second-guessing that accompanies the national team job is probably something he won't miss.

-- Bradley also discussed the appeal of new frontiers. "I've always enjoyed new challenges. I encourage, whether its players or actually my children, or when I coached in college, kids in college, I believe that that's what life's all about," he said. "I've enjoyed the opportunities I've had along the way, the different challenges. And so as I move forward, there will always be an open mind in that regard."

-- The U.S. yielded too many early goals, and despite the players' protests to the contrary, that could be regarded as an indictment of Bradley's tactics, lineup selection or preparation. Certain players that Bradley took chances on, like Robbie Findley, Ricardo Clark and José Torres, simply didn't get the job done.

-- Gulati implied a lack of satisfaction with the second-round elimination. "I think the team was capable of more. I think the players know it. I think Bob knows it. So I think on that level we're disappointed we didn't get to play another 90 minutes, at least," he said in a meeting with reporters on Monday morning.

Gulati credited Bradley and the team for advancing past the first round, which was the "first goal," and said he was pleased that "we helped re-establish the position of the team after the last World Cup." But the loss to Ghana, a team that Gulati acknowledged deserved its victory in Rustenburg, lingered as a "missed opportunity."
"I've known Bob for a very long time and have a lot of faith in him. I think the world of him on a personal level, but this won't be about the personal level for either him or me. "
-- Sunil Gulati
U.S. Soccer Federation president
"It was a game we could have won, and probably feel should have won," Gulati said. "It was all in front of us, is the best way of putting it. We started dreaming after the first round, looking at the bracket and you start thinking about what's possible, and unfortunately we end up thinking about what could have been."

He added: "I know [Bradley is] very disappointed with the final outcome."

Gulati will stay in South Africa through the rest of the tournament, in large part to continue his lobbying for U.S. Soccer's bid for the 2022 World Cup (and officially, 2018 as well). He and Bradley likely will speak shortly after the July 11 final.

"I've known Bob for a very long time and have a lot of faith in him. I think the world of him on a personal level, but this won't be about the personal level for either him or me. It's not going to be snap decision, " Gulati said. "We're going to sit down and talk about it. I want to hear his thoughts about why, I've got some questions, of why we did some things collectively ... decisions he made along the way, and I'm sure he's going to want to hear about some of my reactions."

Gulati said he's "not going to talk to other [prospective candidates] until I've talked to Bob."

Said Bradley, when meeting the press for a final time on Monday: "There's always a process with any situation, where both sides probably need time and you go from there. The only real comment I would make ... I've always enjoyed new challenges. But I also from day one have said and consider it a tremendous honor to coach the national team."

Bradley has acquitted himself with honor, without question. An interim choice four years ago when Jürgen Klinsmann turned down Gulati's offer, Bradley withstood considerable disrespect and criticism and proved himself with results when it counted. He won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, beat Spain and advanced to the final of the Confederations Cup last year, took a 'B' team to the final of the 2009 Gold Cup, finished first in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying and advanced to the second round of the World Cup. On paper, that's a job well done.

"It's a credit to him that he's kept going, that he has a lot of mental strength. He's passed that on to us. I think it's showed how we've progressed in the past four years as a soccer country," captain Carlos Bocanegra said.

In addition, he should be credited with building a team that has won nearly universal acclaim here, even from journalists and observers from established footballing powers, for its tireless effort and ability to respond to adversity. There have been few unkind words spoken about the U.S. national team in South Africa.

Bradley's players stand by their coach, despite some questionable decisions in the World Cup

Bradley has demonstrated flexibility and the willingness to try new things. He took chances. Not everything worked, but at the same time, many coaches are far more rigid than he is. He also won over his players, who credited his long-term vision, legendary work ethic and attention to detail with forging a team that won a World Cup group for the first time in 80 years.

"Bob has a very distinct way of doing things and some people like it and some people don't," Landon Donovan said. "At the end of the day, we believe in what Bob does, whether it's the right way or wrong way in people's eyes doesn't matter. We think it's the right way and we believe it.

"I think it's taken a long time for a lot of us to wrap our heads around exactly what Bob wanted from us, and now we're all understanding why he put us through some of the things he put us through and why he challenges us the way he did. He could see the bigger picture from the beginning, while a lot of us where short sighted."

Said Jozy Altidore, has played in Spain and England since leaving MLS: "He's right up there with the best coaches in terms of the tactics and trying to sort teams out. I think he's very good at that. I haven't been in a game [with Bradley] where I haven't been well prepared going into it, and I think the team would say the same thing ... in my opinion, he's earned a lot of respect from a lot of people."

All of that is why there can be no legitimate claim that Bradley was a failure, even though most think he made a key mistake or two during this World Cup. England's Fabio Capello was paid $9 million per year -- 15 times what Bradley makes -- for the same result. Former World Cup winning coaches Carlos Alberto Parreira and Marcello Lippi flamed out in the first round, winning a combined one match. Sven-Göran Eriksson, a supposed big name, couldn't qualify for the second phase with Ivory Coast. (Interestingly, Gulati revealed that he and Bradley had discussions with Capello about working with U.S. Soccer shortly before the Italian took the England job. At the time, Capello said he wanted to work somewhere without too much pressure. He chose poorly).

Players decide games, ultimately, and Bradley fared well compared to the competition. He got a lot out of a team that lacked talent at certain key positions.

Be sure to stay with FanHouse for complete coverage from South Africa, as columnist Kevin Blackistone and soccer editor Brian Straus will be on location for the duration of the tournament.

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World Cup Coverage
But that doesn't mean he should stay. Bradley has done what he could with the national team program, maximizing both his own skill set and that of his players. It's hard to imagine any real change or improvement in the next four years if he stays. For that reason alone, it's time for a new voice and a new direction.

"I think he's done a very good job. I want to make that very clear. When we've had our 'A' team, the record's pretty darn good," Gulati said. "The problem is that our expectations have risen pretty sharply and there have been some performances where we didn't play as well, but that happens all the time."

The principle legacy of Bradley's reign and the results from this World Cup will be this: that American coaches are as qualified as those from any other country to get results against top teams and to weather the rigors of a major tournament, and that American coaches are more likely to have the familiarity and feel for the American player required to forge the kind of team spirit this edition of the national team possessed.

"Having someone who understands Americans and the American player is a plus, I don't think there's any doubt about that. On the other side of that, it's also a plus to have planed in a World Cup final and coached in a World Cup final. And we don't have anyone who fits that description in the United States," Gulati said, stressing that "an understanding of the American mentality, of American players, of the American system," would be key if he made a coaching change.

He said hiring a big-name foreign coach might generate some excitement and publicity, but that the "primary way to enthuse the American public is to do well at this event."

The feeling here is that a change will come, perhaps within the next couple of weeks. Bradley can walk away knowing that his peculiarities served the program well during this four-year cycle, and he can move forward confident that he'll continue to win wherever he goes, as he has throughout his career.

"When you go through certain situations along the way, you get tested. And when you get tested, you always want to believe that when the wind is blowing around you, that you won't change who you are and what you're all about," he said. "And actually I've been through that situation enough times that I feel pretty good about that, and always will."