Alex Ferguson Full of Praise for US Coach Bob Bradley

Sir Alex Ferguson, the veteran Manchester United manager who arguably is the dean of world soccer coaches, said Monday afternoon that the U.S. Soccer Federation should rush to sign coach Bob Bradley to a new deal.

Speaking in Houston ahead of Wednesday's MLS All-Star Game, which will pit United against the league's top players, Ferguson said, "I think [Bradley] did a fantastic job and I am surprised the USA have not sprinted to his house and given him a new contract."

Bradley's deal expires at the end of the year. The day after the U.S. was eliminated by Ghana in the World Cup's round-of-16, U.S. Soccer President told media in Johannesburg that he intended to speak to Bradley regarding his future shortly after the conclusion of the tournament. Not much has been said since then.

Gulati said at the time that the federation had not spoken to any other candidates about the national team job and did not plan to do so unless it was decided not to retain Bradley.

In the meantime, rumors circulated about possible interest in Bradley from English Premier League club Fulham, which has shown considerable faith in American players over the past decade. Nothing has been confirmed, but Fulham was unsuccessful in prying Martin Jol away from Ajax and remains in the hunt for a new coach. Other more prominent candidates for the job continue to surface, however, such as Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes, and serial failure Sven-Göran Eriksson.

Ferguson said Monday, however, that Bradley was as qualified as the rest to coach in the Premier League.

"I think he would do well. I like Bob. I like his approach. I think he has a steely determination about him and he goes into a lot of detail in his coaching," Ferguson said. "I think he'd do a fantastic job."

The iconic Scotsman who has guided United to 11 English and two European titles, said he was aware of rumors linking Fulham to Bradley and that the job is not "beyond his boundaries at all. I think he is very capable of taking on a challenge like that."

While American players have slowly earned respect abroad, very few American coaches have been given the chance by foreign teams. A notable exception is 1998 World Cup coach Steve Sampson, who led the Costa Rican national team in 2002-04 and was fired during the qualifying campaign for the 2006 tournament. Bill Moravek, a Virginia native and former Clemson player, became the first American to lead a foreign national side when he coached the British Virgin Islands in 2000. He went on to serve as a staff coach at England's Southampton.

Foreign coaches and players will laud the athleticism and determination of American players, but you don't hear much praise for their soccer brains. The bias that U.S. coaches can't hack it in "real" soccer countries still exists.

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@FanHouseSoccer | @BrianStraus But Bradley hasn't ruled out the possibility. Following the Americans' elimination from the World Cup, he said he enjoyed testing himself and looked forward to 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 at his final press conference at the national team's camp in Irene. "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."

Ferguson echoed that sentiment on Monday.

"He may want the challenge himself, I think that what he has achieved with the USA has been very good, he is a young man and I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a challenge in Europe or England for that matter," he said.