Bradley fired as USA national coach
Reuters - Thursday 28 July 2011, 21:08
NEW YORK - Bob Bradley was fired as the
United States national men's head coach on Thursday after
nearly five years in the job.
Bradley, 53, had been facing mounting pressure to keep his
position despite having three years to run on his contract
after the Americans underperformed as hosts of last month's
CONCACAF Gold Cup, where they lost to Mexico in the final.
"We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and
dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years," U.S.
Soccer President Sunil Gulati said in a statement.
"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."
Bradley, whose son Michael is a member of the national
team, took over as the permanent head coach in 2007 after being
taken on as interim coach when the U.S. flopped at the 2006
World Cup in Germany.
He enjoyed instant success, winning the 2007 CONCACAF Gold
Cup at home and leading the U.S. to the final of the 2009
Confederations Cup in South Africa.
He then safely guided the team through the qualifiers for
the 2010 World Cup, also in South Africa, but the U.S. lost in
the second round to Ghana after drawing with England in the
group stage.
Bradley was linked with a move to Aston Villa but signed a
four-year extension last year to stay on as U.S. head coach.
However, his position came under renewed attack after the
U.S. were beaten by Panama in the group stages at last month's
CONCACAF Gold Cup. They recovered to reach the final against
Mexico, but squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2.
"It is always hard to make these decisions, especially when
it involves someone we respect as much as Bob," Gulati said.
"We wish him the best in his future endeavours."
There was no immediate announcement on who would replace
Bradley but Gulati said he would make another announcement on
Friday, leading to speculation that a successor had already
been decided.
A handful of coaches have been linked with the job,
including former Germany World Cup winner and coach Jurgen
Klinsmann.
Klinsmann said last year he had agreed to a financial
package to take over from Bradley before talks broke down over
how much control he would have.