by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
U.S. men's national team head coach Bob Bradley has one busy summer ahead of him.
Bradley is preparing for the biggest summer of his coaching career as the United States plays Costa Rica and Honduras in a pair of World Cup qualifiers before traveling to South Africa to play in the Confederations Cup. After playing against the likes of Italy, Egypt and Brazil, Bradley and the U.S. will look to defend their Gold Cup title before closing out the summer with a World Cup qualifier in Estadio Azteca against rival Mexico.
Bradley sat down with FIFA.com and talked about the jam-packed summer schedule, as well as topics ranging from the combination of youth and experience on the team, to how he plans on preparing the squad next week when they play two World Cup qualifiers in a span of four days.
What do you think of the interview with Bob Bradley? Surprised by anything he said? Do you see the U.S. team making it out of the group stage of the Confederations Cup?
Share your thoughts below.
Dont forget, you could have any coach in the mls and the usmnt would have secured the same results. BB has not done anything different or better than Arena. We are still in the same place different coach. His interviews gives you good insight into this pep talks with the team. Boring, does not inspire or pump up anyone. Thats our leader!
Think of your own job, your manager makes or breaks the deal.
Where to start? You win the games you are supposed to win? Well, what about El Sav which is supposed to be the weakest team in the hex? I do not care that they played in ES, they still sleepwalked through that game. And BTW, everyone posting seems to have conveniently forgotten how bad Hedjuk played for 3/4 of the game before his “heroics”.
AND you cannot give credit to BB for the expanded pool of players. He is just the guy that got the benefit from it. HE is only a so-so coach who has no business being where he is.
Good/Great coaches win games that they are not expected to win. They make great tactical decisions to defend certain players and bring on players who change the character of the game. I haven’t seen Bradley do any of that. Even Arena did a great job of having Reyna play right back against Mexico in 2002 to effectively negate its attack and utterly confound them.
Klinnsmann took a German Team far further than anyone thought possible in WC 2006.
BB’s integration of new players and strategies has been poor in my estimation. I also think he is just as complicit in letting Subotic get away as TR or Gulati. If even by his mere presence as coach. Do you think NS would have passed on the chance to play for Klinsi? Doubt it…
Winning CONCACAF is really nothing to brag about. Now getting out of the Group at the Confed Cup would be.
BB is meat and potatoes. If we ever want to really shine on the world stage, chances need to be taken. Maybe its not Klinnsmann but there are others such as Hiddink, et al.
Be creative. Think outside of the box US Soccer!!!
I understand the sentiment that some think that Bradley is not going to take this team to the next level, and how Klinsmann is the savior. The fact of the matter is that Bradley’s team has won the matches they were suppose to win, and throw in the surprise result here and there ( @Poland, v. Argentina, v. Ecuador; take your pick). In CONCACAF alone, the only time we haven’t taken points was against T&T in Port of Spain with our B team. I know it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that we are a world power in soccer, and it can be easy to compare the US with the likes of Argentina, Spain, England, Italy, etc. The fact of the matter is that we aren’t that good yet.
Look at what Bradley has done with this team since taking over for Arena. The talent pool has expanded a heck of a lot more than it was prior to 2006, and I think it is safe to say that the Bradley regime has done well to get as many looks as possible with as many players as possible. With the two tournaments this summer, that pool is going to get another look a year prior to the World Cup which is a great thing.
I am not saying that Bradley is Sir Alex or Mourinho, but the fact of the matter is that I do not think that Klinsmann would do any better with this team than Bradley has done. Klinsmann alone does not turn Donovan into Ribery or Altidore into Luca Toni. We are a mid-level team in the global landscape and it is going to take time before we become a force to be reckoned with outside of CONCACAF.
We might never be fully satisfied with our team and coaching regardless of results. We could somehow advance from the group of death in the Confederations Cup, and we could still bicker about Bradley’s selections. We are who we are, and Bradley is who he is. He might not coach the prettiest soccer on God’s green Earth, but if we somehow end up winning anything substantial in the next 12 months, then God damn it was pretty damn worth it. Bradley has been a good coach for this transitional period in US Soccer, and I honestly think that this team and program will benefit down the road.
I wonder if BB is considering his extended vacation plans after The CONFED CUP, and if Klinsmann will be ready to turn this team into a force to be reckoned with against the Giants of Soccer.
Benfica to sell American Pele (don’t want him back)
“Jose Mourinho, he is not.”
Does this mean BB is the “not so special one”?
Bob is a better coach than Bruce Arena, but with Bruce you could count on him to make brash statements to the press. Bob is as boring in interviews as the day is long.
FOur legit goals? really lets see the first bounced of gooch. The seconc legit the third legit the forth was a free kick that the ref was baited into by ronaldinho. So… take away the two legit as you say goals and its tied 2-2.
I agree with Nate; they would not fire BB under any circumstances, even if he lost them all. The line up changes for the T&T game give me some hope, however, that he is not a complete stick in the mud, and not opposed to scoring some goals. My guess is wins over CR and Honduras and a loss to Mexico in the qualifiers; and one point for a tie with Egypt in South Africa, no more. I don’t care about the results in SA; the exposure to big time teams in the quasi-World Cup environment will be more important then anything. In the WC we get pasted by teams that come to play some serious ball. This will be an early wake-up call, the equivalent of getting embarrassed in the first WC cup game without losing any points. I actually think it would be counterproductive to make it out of the group. The last thing we need is being ranked 5th in the world going into 2010. That was teh awesome in 2006.
” It was a day when 35-year-old veteran Frankie Hejduk …”
For every Hejduk bring in the old timer anecdote there is a Roy Wegerle, Eddie Lewis, no not him horror performance.
the egypt game actually scares me a great deal. i feel like they have a much greater chance to show the world they are contenders than we do.
USA shocks the world and brings home the cup.
“we had the same team with more depth and youth from the team that should have tied brazil 2-2 but lost 4-2.”
I read this from people all the time about that game, and I don’t understand what they mean. I remember watching, and Brazil scored 4 legit goals in that game, so what am I missing?
Bradley is ok as the US coach, but we will see in this next month. His player choices will speak volumes. I don’t think we have to win the games in the Confederations cup as long as we play well, make it exciting, and don’t play scared. The nice thing is we are getting more familar with these teams, and we tend to play better against teams we are familiar with.
I believe they are going to focus on focusing….
I’m thinkin’ USMNT is going to be PISSED going into the Italy game. They ought to have a chip on their shoulder the size of Gibraltar for that match. USA 2-1 ITA. Against Brazil, well, no one really ever beats Brazil…they just beat themselves. BRA 3-1 USA in a squeaker and a late clinching goal. Then the big question mark. We have such a hard time playing styles and teams we’ve not seen before. I’m giving Boca and Gooch a LOT of faith here…USA 1-1 EGY.
ITA and BRA *THUMP* Egypt, ‘cuz they get how to play those games. +2 GD for each game with EGY. Then they tie each other, because they know that’s all they have to do to go through.
BRA 7 (+4)
ITA 4 (+1)
USA 4 (-1)
EGY 1 (-4)
And USA goes home…
I do appreciate Bradley’s style (or at least what i’m picking up through this interview) of just keeping your heads down and working hard. But does anybody think there’s any cause for concern in the motivation corner? Or does the team get that type of leadership from someone else?
I just feel like there’s not a whole lot of heart in the matter to succeed when he talks about his aspirations for the Confederations Cup. Maybe he’s just not being public about their drive to win, but at some point you gotta want it!
I will take a boring interview if we keep winning/getting positive results. I will take a boring BB over someone like Hugo Sanchez, who wrote a check his mouth couldn’t cash. Or even Klinnsmann, who had the most talented team in the Bundisliga and couldn’t seal the deal in league or tournament competition.
Be careful of what you wish for, because you might just get it one day. I actually like Jurgen, but Bradley has done a decent job of expanding the player pool and giving some players a chance. I just hope he knows when to bow out, something Bruce Arena failed to do after South Korea.
That’s funny Nate, it’s true he can lose all these games and still keep his job (except the Honduras one, I think he’s gotta at least tie this at home)but the rest are games that can easily be lost and no harm done because they are tough venues. Then there’s a lot to be gained from this, this is a good chance to test these guys and also any tie or win is a big plus!!
We had a crapier team in 2006 that tied Italy, we had the same team with more depth and youth from the team that should have tied brazil 2-2 but lost 4-2. We’ve never played this egypt team so that game is a toss up but yet most people let the names Italy and Brazil speak for themselves and you gift wrap them the game. They still have to play just like we do my predictions: we beat italy, we tie brazil and we beat egypt. You heard it hear first!!
Interview was typical of BB. Interested in seeing how he will manage the players this summer.
Bob could lose:
@ Costa Rica
vs Honduras
vs Brazil
vs Italy
vs Egypt
@ Mexico
…and still not lose his job.
as per usual he says nothing.
It’s a gift of his.
Klinsman is to the USA as Sven is to Mexico
“Right after that it’s off the Confederations Cup, where you’ll represent CONCACAF. How do you view the tournament?”
Blah, blah blah … and then “Also, we’ll be playing against the top teams in the world and we’ll challenge ourselves and assess where we are as a team that way.”
It’s way, way, way more than that Bobby baby. This is like a final exam in college with your final grade riding on your grade. People WILL assess where YOU are as the coach of this team. YOU built this team and YOU are responsible for their performance. Pass of Fail is riding on it
This had me laughing:
“Fifa: It was a day when 35-year-old veteran Frankie Hejduk shined, setting up the first goal and scoring the equaliser.
BB: Those are the kind of days when you need your old timers and their experience.”
He called Frankie and old timer on FIFA.com. That’s pretty funny. How many coaches are referring to their players in that way? (Even if Frankie is 35)
i mentioned this when Ives was taking suggestions for the next SBI Questions, but i don’t think Bob would be good because he keeps things so close to the vest. that’s why i’m not surprised this interview was so bland, but at the same time, i’m glad he got some exposure on fifa.com
however, i have to say that i am actually a little surprised that he even mentioned that honduras will be on short rest.
Bradley is a good coach so far – stop the klinsmann talk.. Big Summer tho!
Brandley is doing a good job with the team. We do not need a foreing coach to mess up the Nats style of playing.
This is going to be a great summer for the US team. 4 points in the group stage is all they need.
For the record “Jurgen”, Klinsi lives in Germany now.
I, for one, don’t mind BB as our coach. I am comfortable with the blend of players that he calls upon (although, there are a few players that I question and a few that I’d like to see more of) and I like his strategies for the most part. He’s got us this far so I am happy to see it play out for him.
…but then again, I liked Arena too. As a Galaxy fan, i can’t say that I continue to like him… Yikes can LA get any offense?
I think getting 4 points out of the next two qualifiers would rate a success.
I just got my tickets for the Honduras game in Chi-town.
The Yanks are comin’!!!!!!!!
All of those people who were b*#ching about Bradley in 2007 when he chose to make the Gold Cup the priority over Copa America have finally shut their mouths. It was the victory in the 07 Gold Cup that got the United States into the Confederations Cup this year.
This is the biggest non-World Cup summer of soccer in U.S. history. If the Americans don’t have a good showing over the course of the next few months, he’ll be looking for a new job by the fall. Best of luck, he’s going to need it.
Jurgen, think we’ve been down that road before.
I can’t believe I wasted my time reading that interview. Blah.
I listen to this man and I sense that he is in very far over his head. Perhaps it is time to take this team in a new managerial direction. I live in Los Angeles and I am currently available. Can I send someone a resume’?
i like how much focs there is for the confederations cup and hopefully who knows….they can probably be a suprise and go farther than we think.
Typical Bradley interview. Very calculated, safe answers with nothing particularly insightful. With that said, as long as he gets it done on the field he can continue to bore me to tears with his interviews. (suprise)
The man has mastered the art of saying a lot, without saying nothing at all, however, if he delivers a deep World Cup run in 2010, I could careless how boring he is…
He is a stone wall. Boring interview.
I hope the U.S. can manage 4 points in their group. They have a chance with only one loss, if they lose two games, zippy chance. The one thing the U.S. has going for them is their work rate. They have always been a very fit team, so I hope that will help against the powerhouses that will move the ball constantly.
This could very well be the same group they are thrown in this December in the World Cup draw. We always get the group of death.
But I am very excited, even if they lose every game, it will be a great experience for the team. No result has any real foreshadowing of what will happen next summer, but it will be fantastic to see how this brand new USMNT matches up with the best in the world.
Typical Bob interview, and I don’t mean that in a derisive way. He’s just not the type who is going to make headlines with his comments — Jose Mourinho, he is not. He says the things he’s supposed to say and little more.
I am glad, however, that he seems to be making the Confederations Cup a major priority. It seems it’s been a priority all along. In a sense, it is a huge opportunity for our team to experience South Africa before South Africa ’10. Hopefully, we will make some good progress this summer and post some good results.
snooze