Believe in Bob Bradley
?Bob Bradley is the most interesting man in the football/soccer world. Well his resume should at least say that. Bradley has had an interesting career: from starting at Princeton, to coaching a fledgling MLS side, US. men's National Team coach, Egypt National team coach, Stabaek, and Le Havre. He has seen and done it all. For the longest time, however, it seemed like Bradley would toil away in the lower tier of European football. Sure he had been on the shortlist for jobs like Hull City, but it seemed like he would never get a job in the top flight. That was until Swansea came calling. The Welsh club offered Bradley a chance to do something that no other American has ever done: manager an Premier League team. Of course there are some questions about the hire. Many, if social media and forums are to be believed, are under the impression that the only reason why Swansea hired Bradley is because he is American. There are also those that view Bradley's tenure as United States Men's coach as a failure. But when you really dig deep, one will find that wherever Bradley has been he has left better. This isn't just about Bradley being an American, it's about a man that has paid his dues and deserves a shot. One should not count Bob Bradley out.
Bradley has a track record of success. Even in college as he was just starting out as a manager, Bradley led Princeton to two Ivy League titles and a final four appearance. But it is his time with the fledgling Chicago Fire where Bradley truly shined. In the club's first year in the MLS, Bradley guided them to the US Open Cup and MLS Cup. He would then again led the club to the US Open Cup. He would then guide the Metrostars to the playoffs in two of his three seasons oh and he won a US Open Cup with the club as well. He even managed Chivas USA into the playoffs. Yes, the mls was not as competitive back then as it is now, but still his time managing MLS clubs is impressive. If Bradley had done this in a league such as the Eredivise, Bradley would have been considered a hot commodity.
Bradley's most well known job was his tenure with the United States Men's National Team. Bradley took over for the legend Bruce Arena and had large shoes to fill. Oh and did I mention that Bradley was not even the first choice to take over for Arena? He was the second choice. You know who the first choice was? Jurgen Klinsmann. Brad,eye wasn't even named permenant manager initially, instead he had the dreaded interim label placed in front of him. Essentially no one projected Bradley to last. He was just a placeholder till negotiations with Klinsmann were finished. Critics said that he was too inexperienced on a national stage to run the team. Yet in his first five months as manager, Bradley was undefeated in 10 matches oh and he won the 2007 Gold Cup. Oh and he beat Mexico twice in that stretch. The manager that was none's first choice(sound familiar Swansea?) took the club to extraordinary heights.
Despite his initial success some would criticize the manager for the 2007 Copa America performance. Never mind that Bradley had to field a team of second string players due to some MLS clubs not releasing some of their bigger American stars. No Bradley had failed and some questioned his ability in the long scheme of things. Plus a mediocre start to 2008 had some calling for Klinsmann and to terminate Bradley.
Then came the 2009 Confederations Cup and the semifinal against the mighty Spain. This same Spain team that had won the Euro Cup(and would go on to win the 2010 World Cup), a team that was predicted to thrash the US. But here is where the underdog, grit mentality of Bradley was born. The United States would win the match 2-0 and send shockwaves throughout the footballing world. Here was the upstart United States beating a highly favorited and dominant Spain. Bob Bradley, the man that was the second choice, managed to beat Spain. In the final the United State slew a 2-0 lead to Brazil in what was a heart wrenching match. But it is that match against Spain that is regarded as Bradley's greatest managerial achievement. Though he did not win the tournament, he did show that he could prepare his team to beat some of the best national teams in the world.
Of course grit and toughness and being an underdog can only take you so far. Though Bradley did manage to get out of one of the toughest groups in the 2010 World Cup, he still could not beat Ghana. And by 2011, it was clear that Bradley had taken the United States Men's Team as far as he could take them. His teams still had a propensity to either concede goals early or utterly collapse and surrender a big lead. In addition the youth development was not where wit should have been. Nor was his ability to find a star defender. It was clear by 2011 that The Men's team needed a culture shift. They needed a new manager that could take the, further than Bradley ever did. So it was fully understandable as to why the powers that be felt like they needed to fire Bradley.
That should be the end of the story, right? Bradley gets fired in 2011 and goes on to manage in a league like the MLS or even returns to college. That's what the conventional wisdom would say happened. But Bradley's career defies conventional wisdom. Remember how I started off calling Bob Bradley the most interesting man in the (football/soccer) world? Well he earned that moniker for what he would do following his departure from the United States National Team. In fact his next decision made his previous managerial career experience look dull in comparison. Bob Bradley would become the Egypt national team manager in 2011.
For those that don't remember or didn't care at the time, in 2011 Egypt was in the middle of the Arab Spring. A time of coup's and Revolution. Needless to say it was not the time to move there. Especially not for a soccer manager following the Port Said Massacre that occurred. Oh and the Egyptian League was suspended which meant that there was no domestic clubs to play or train. Any right thinking manager would have gone to a different job. Not touch the Egypt job with a ten foot pole. Yet despite all these negatives and threats of violence, Bob Bradley took the job. The man that could have had several different jobs in a better location,but he choose to not only manage the Egyptian side, but to live in the country on the brink of collapse.
In truth Bradley and Egypt were what each other needed at the time. Egypt offered a second chance, a chance at redemption to prove that he was a good manager. Bradley offered stability and quite confidence in a country that desperately needed both. Despite not having a league and fear of losing talent via immigration, Bradley managed to put together an impressive team. The star of the team was Mohammed Salah, an impressive forward. Oh and the team won its first six matches of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. A team that couldn't even have fans in the stadium do to fear of violence, was so close to going to the World Cup. Of course Egypt would lose to Ghana(Bradley's nemesis) and Bradley would not be retained. But what Bradley did, the way he rebuilt that team and gave Egypt hope was nothing short of a miracle. There are very few managers that would have the guts to take a job like that under those circumstances, even less would have the ability to do the job that Bob Bradley did.
So we move into the Stabaek and Le Havre phase. At Stabaek, Bradley became the first ever American manager to have his team qualify for the Europa League. At Le Havre, his team was a goal away from being promoted last season. One more goal in the last match of the season. If that had happened, we are talking about how Bradley not only got Le Havre promoted, but how he is the first American to manage in the top flight of the European Leagues. It was at these two clubs that Bradley honed his skills. Took his success and failures from his previous stops to evolve. It can be argued that at 58, Bradley is at his best as a manager. That should excite Swansea fans.
People have argued that the only reason why Swansea hired Bradley is because he is American like the new owners. These same people will say that the only reason why I wrote this article is because I too am American. But that would be shortsighted. You see I like the underdog story. The story of a man that faces trials and tribulations and succeeds. There is no better embodiment of this in sports than Bob Bradley. This is why I am Moreno rooting for Bradley because he is the underdog more than because he is an American. For me this is not about his nationality, it is about wanting a man that has been so doubted and scapegoated, to succeed and win. He deserved and earned his shot. Sure there will be speed bumps along the way, but Bradley will have Swansea on the right road.
And if you doubt Bob Bradley, well you do so at your own peril.
