Isn't he just another Bruce Arena guy with a slightly shorter list of credentials? That's the question a lot of U.S. Soccer fans have been asking since USSF President Sunil Gulati named Bradley the new interim coach of the national team, following a botched negotiation with Germany's World Cup coach and former world star Juergen Klinsmann. I played two seasons for Bradley at Princeton and have kept track of his career as much as possible since then. I have a lot of respect for him both as a man and a coach, but the questions remain about whether he is the man to turn U.S. Soccer around after a dismal 2006 World Cup...
Bob would probably answer that question by saying that he doesn't need to turn anything around, that the disappointment this summer was mostly the reaction of an uninformed fan base with expectations for success that were way too high as a result of our nearly miraculous results in the 2002 World Cup and our inflated world rankings since then, and that his job now is to keep up the good work Bruce Arena accomplished while using his own particular skill set to improve the system.
I guess the first thing to note is that Bob, while a professional prot�g� and friend of Arena's, does not have a soccer mind derivative of Bruce Arena's. That said, there will be continuity between their systems, and Gulati's choice of Bradley will be judged in that context. He went for an outsider, a superstar, a European with world-class playing credentials, and when it fell through, he decided the next best choice was an American who got his start at the University of Virginia.
Some people have looked a the decision that way-- as if it were a decision about whether U.S. Soccer stays American or becomes European. I think that's really a fan discussion, and it will continue forever. Anybody who follows soccer at all knows that a coach can really only be judged on their record of performance, on their attributes as a leader, on their technical abilities. Add to that the fact that Bradley is an interim coach, without a technical director title, whose job is to prepare the U.S. Men's National team and the U.S. Men's Olympic team in winter training camps for their summer of competition.
I know that Bob has developed as a coach in the eleven years since I played for him, but I also know there are certain things you can count on when he's your coach. As a communicator, he is extremely clear about his expectations. As a trainer, he is incredibly focused on creating angles and moving the ball quickly. As a mentor, he is honest and consistent. As a competitor, he is ferocious and tireless.
Those are all good qualities. He has used them to win everywhere he's been. We went to the NCAA semi-finals my freshman year at Princeton and lost to UVA in Claudio Reyna's last year. After he left Princeton, Bob won a couple MLS Cups with D.C. He won the double in his first year in Chicago. He's made the playoffs every year he's been a head coach. He is winningest coach in MLS soccer history.
Bradley and Gulati have been very careful in their comments since the hiring. It's a delicate time and one in which less is more. I just can't help wondering what Bob is really thinking. He is an extremely honest guy. He won't lie. But he, like many successful coaches, holds his hand pretty close.
Does he thing there's something wrong with the U.S. National Team? Does he think he can fix it? Does he know why we were exposed so badly in the World Cup?
Maybe at this point I should come out and say what I think is wrong about the team, what I'm concerned about as a fan, and then tell you if I think Bob can help. I think the World Cup showed that we were unable to replace aging stars like Reyna and McBride with young talent, and that was less a sign of their brilliance and more a sign of a talent deficit. I think we were in an extremely tough group and that we were not a bad team. I think Bruce lost control of the players in the public scene after we were hammered by the Czechs. I think the most concerning thing about the whole tournament from our stance was that we didn't create enough scoring chances, didn't shoot well when we did have chances, and let our competition get comfortable again with the idea that U.S. Soccer lacks the ability to punish mistakes.
Can Bob fix all that? No, but he can fix some of it. He would have had the guts to commit to younger players earlier in the preparation process and he wouldn't have been stuck with Reyna and O'Brien in the middle of the field. Those two are the most skillful players we have, true, but Claudio's getting too old and O'Brien's fragile and we got killed in the center in every game. Also, Bob always commands the respect of his players because he demands it and earns it. He works harder than you do. Expects more. And he lets you hear about it. If you have anything to say, you have the chance to say it. His is not a locker room full of secret resentments.
The truth is that Bob and Bruce are very good coaches who come from the New Jersey school of coaching whose Yoda is Manfred Schellscheidt. Bob will take risks on young talent, he will establish a clear ethic and tactical vision, and he will bring a well-prepared coherent team that will bleed for him to the Gold Cup and Copa America next summer. That's what he's been asked to do.
The 'What's wrong with U.S. Soccer question?' is one you should direct not to the national team coach but to Gulati and the Federation. One answer is that the Federation has way too much power because the clubs and the players don't. Much of that power still originates from an era when you could go far in our system without being good or knowledgeable about the game. Our system is still slave to the big suburban club apparatus, still doesn't have good channels for immigrant players, still doesn't exist in the cities, where at least half the athletes are. It is a non-profit with a large comfortable bourgeois bureaucracy.
As long as that is true we will play unremarkable soccer. We will play predictably, with great fitness, athleticism, and team concept, and we will not scare anyone. The U.S Men's National Team stars, particularly Landon Donovan, have been vocal in their support for Bradley, already pushing to make him the permanent coach. Interestingly enough, though, the one player who showed the world that he was dangerous last summer, Clint Dempsey, was more polite and circumspect than supportive of Bob's appointment, "He has proven himself as a coach with the success that he's had. Hopefully he can come in and do the business for the national team." That's a PR line.
I think what is really interesting about this story is what Bob will do if he's given a real chance as coach. He is a product of the Federation, a prot�g� of Bruce's, and a suburban soccer coach. But he has always yearned to coach at this level, to compete in Europe, to be recognized as one of the best coaches in the world. And he has never ever taken anyone else's word for success.
Who knows? Maybe he will scare some people. And then we will too.
Can Bob fix all that? No, but he can fix some of it. He would have had the guts to commit to younger players earlier in the preparation process and he wouldn't have been stuck with Reyna and O'Brien in the middle of the field. Those two are the most skillful players we have, true, but Claudio's getting too old and O'Brien's fragile and we got killed in the center in every game. Also, Bob always commands the respect of his players because he demands it and earns it. He works harder than you do. Expects more. And he lets you hear about it. If you have anything to say, you have the chance to say it. His is not a locker room full of secret resentments.
The truth is that Bob and Bruce are very good coaches who come from the New Jersey school of coaching whose Yoda is Manfred Schellscheidt. Bob will take risks on young talent, he will establish a clear ethic and tactical vision, and he will bring a well-prepared coherent team that will bleed for him to the Gold Cup and Copa America next summer. That's what he's been asked to do.
The 'What's wrong with U.S. Soccer question?' is one you should direct not to the national team coach but to Gulati and the Federation. One answer is that the Federation has way too much power because the clubs and the players don't. Much of that power still originates from an era when you could go far in our system without being good or knowledgeable about the game. Our system is still slave to the big suburban club apparatus, still doesn't have good channels for immigrant players, still doesn't exist in the cities, where at least half the athletes are. It is a non-profit with a large comfortable bourgeois bureaucracy.
As long as that is true we will play unremarkable soccer. We will play predictably, with great fitness, athleticism, and team concept, and we will not scare anyone. The U.S Men's National Team stars, particularly Landon Donovan, have been vocal in their support for Bradley, already pushing to make him the permanent coach. Interestingly enough, though, the one player who showed the world that he was dangerous last summer, Clint Dempsey, was more polite and circumspect than supportive of Bob's appointment, "He has proven himself as a coach with the success that he's had. Hopefully he can come in and do the business for the national team." That's a PR line.
I think what is really interesting about this story is what Bob will do if he's given a real chance as coach. He is a product of the Federation, a prot�g� of Bruce's, and a suburban soccer coach. But he has always yearned to coach at this level, to compete in Europe, to be recognized as one of the best coaches in the world. And he has never ever taken anyone else's word for success.
Who knows? Maybe he will scare some people. And then we will too.
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