Bob Bradley interview discussing the Port Said tragedy in Egypt

Former US MNT and current Egypt MNT coach Bob Bradley is interviewed, regarding the Port Said tragedy in Egypt.

*Video after the jump...

Thursday Morning Yanks Abroad/USMNT Link Drop

*John to recharge despite opportunities to train in Europe

*Universal and Telemundo to air CONCACAF Olympic qualifying

*Former U.S. coach Bradley faces a tough task with new team Egypt

*Over There: Tim Howard’s USMNT Legacy

*Edgar Castillo and Isaac Acuna Sanchez have a new coach at Club America

*Turning Pro: Michigan Native Caleb Stanko Builds a Career at Freiburg

Wednesday Morning Link Drop

*Post-Match Quotes: USA vs. Slovenia

*Carlos Hits 100 Caps!

*Grant Wahl: 3 thoughts from USA-Slovenia

*Parkhurst signs extension with FC Nordsjaelland

*Gringo Report: Torres almost set to return for Pachuca

*Salgado to train with Fulham

*According to his agent Ron Waxman, Juan Agudelo will train with VfB Stuttgart

*USA to play Panama in friendly on January 25

*CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying dates announced

*Reyna on Youth Development

*Doyle Broadening On-field Role

*Dempsey Comfortable in Striker Role

*Former US coach Bradley faces tough task with new team Egpyt

*During the USA-Slovenia match on Galavision, color analyst Diego Balado announced that the USA has agreed in principle to play friendlies on January 21 against an unnamed opponent and on January 28 against Guatemala in Seattle.

Bob Bradley Post-game Interview

Egypt MNT Coach Bob Bradley names 22 for Friendly Against Brazil

Former US MNT coach Bob Bradley has named the following squad for Egypt's friendly against Brazil on November 14 in Doha, Qatar.


EGYPT SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS (3): Essam El-Hadary (El-Merreikh, Sudan), Ahmed El-Shennawy (Masry), Mohamed Sobhy Ismaily

DEFENDERS (8): Wael Gomaa, Ahmed Fathi (Ahly), Mahmoud Fathallah, Mohamed Abdel-Shafy (Zamalek), Ahmed Hegazy (Ismaily), Ahmed Ouka (Haras El-Hodoud), Ahmed Elmohamady (Sunderland, England), Mohamed Nassef (ENPPI)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Hosni Abd-Rabou (Ismaily), Hossam Ghaly, Walid Soliman, Abdallah El-Saied (Ahly), Ibrahim Salah, Ahmed Hassan, Mahmoud Abdel-Razek ‘Shikabala’ (Zamalek)

FORWARDS (4): Emad Meteb (Ahly), Mohamed Zidan (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Amr Zaki (Zamalek), Dodo El-Gabbas (Lierse, Belgium)

Link: Egypt National Team Line Up | Egypt vs Brazil

It's Time To Bury The Hatchet.

Photo:  AP

By:  Matt Carlson

As you may know, “burying the hatchet” means to make peace with someone.  The phrase arose from a tradition followed by several tribes of indigenous people in North America, most notably the Iroquois, Mohawk and Shawnee, who would bury a hatchet in the ground when entering a peace treaty.  To some tribes, burying the hatchet was not meant as a surrender, rather, it was merely a signal that the hostilities had ended.  In the wake of his appointment as manager of Egypt, I think it is time for some U.S. fans to bury the hatchet when it comes to Bob Bradley.

CONTINUE READING AFTER THE JUMP.

Bob Bradley has always had his critics.  They started in as soon as he was named interim manager of the USMNT in 2006 and kept it up throughout his tenure.  Since the news broke that Bob Bradley was being considered to lead the Egyptian National Team, there has been a contingent of U.S. soccer fans who have seen this as another opportunity to bang on about Bradley’s faults.  In between personal attacks and the tired Jonathan Bornstein citizenship jokes, some of these people are openly hoping for the failure of Bob Bradley in Egypt.  While it may be futile, I am going to lay out four good reasons why it is time for these fans to bury the hatchet.

First, if you did not want him as USMNT coach, you have your wish.  He is gone now.  He is no longer your problem.  Frankly, you’re starting to sound like the guy at the party who can’t stop talking about how terrible his ex was.  We get it.  You don’t like Bob Bradley.  Let it go.

Second, Bradley is an American.  I know, I know, cue Lee Greenwood and the falling balloons, but it is true.  He’s one of us.  He’s a guy who has spent a large part of his life developing soccer in the U.S. and has advocated for the sport we love in a country that does not respect it.  As USMNT manager, he stood in the breach for a group of people that never wanted him and did his job.  This deserves some respect.

Third, the criticism of Bob Bradley is disproportionate to his results.  If you want to blame Bradley for every bad thing that happened while he was coach, then it is only fair to give him credit for every good thing that happened, too.  By any objective standard, Bob Bradley’s tenure as coach of the USMNT was successful.  He posted the best record of any USMNT coach ever, at 43-25-12.  With Bradley at the helm, the USMNT got a win over #1 Spain and got to the Finals of the Confederations Cup.  The USMNT finished first in CONCACAF World Cup 2010 qualification and, for the first time ever, won its group at the World Cup.  The amount of people packed into bars across America to watch the USMNT in the World Cup last summer is undeniable evidence that the profile of U.S. soccer was raised during his tenure.  The way some people criticize Bradley, you would think the USMNT was a top five side that failed to win the World Cup.  The reality is, he had an average team and he got above average results.  Most importantly, perhaps, Bradley brought in a ton of new players and left a solid base upon which we all hope Klinsmann can continue to build.  You may not believe that Bradley was the guy to take the USMNT to the next level – an opinion I happen to share – but, you have to concede he did some good while he was here.

Fourth, if Bob Bradley is successful as coach of Egypt, it will benefit U.S. soccer.  If Bradley can get the Pharaohs back to their former glory, some of the limelight shining on him will reflect onto U.S. soccer.  More importantly, it could pave the way for other American coaches to move abroad.  Granted, Egypt is not a world power, but Bradley’s move is big.  I previously wrote an article which contained a brief synopsis of how rare it is for an American to coach on foreign soil, so I won’t go into the details again here.   Here’s the link if you want a little history.  (http://watchsocceronline.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-dads-smartphone-and-next-frontier.html ).  Suffice it to say that Ian Mork, who led Belize’s national team for two months, makes the list of “Top Ten Greatest American Coaches of Foreign Teams of All Time.”  Never heard of Ian Mork or knew Belize had a national team?  You are not alone, and that illustrates the significance of Bradley’s hire by Egypt, a team that has won the African Cup of Nations multiple times and is currently ranked #36 in the world by FIFA.  I continue to assert that the U.S. needs more American coaches to go abroad if U.S. soccer is going to keep improving and I applaud Bradley for having the stones to go for it.  Don’t forget, managing Egypt is not going to be a cake walk.  There is work to do as Egypt has not been to the World Cup Finals since 1992 and recently missed out on the African Cup of Nations for the first time in nearly thirty years.  Plus, road trips to places like Libya and Sudan can’t be too awesome.  Remember the attack on Togo’s national team in Angola that left three dead last year?  It would have been far easier for Bradley to have stayed in America and coached an MLS team, but he didn’t.  I hope other American coaches follow his lead and seek jobs s abroad.  If they do, I think some day in the future, we may be pointing back to this time as one of the key moments in U.S. soccer’s development.

Unfortunately, all of this is likely to be unpersuasive to those who still wish to attack Bradley.  I think these people are in the group of fans out there for whom it is more important that they be “right” about something than it is for American soccer to be successful.  To put it another way, they’d rather Bob Bradley fail in Egypt than be wrong about him.  To those people, I would ask this question:   If Bob Bradley fails in Egypt, what is the upside for U.S. Soccer?  I’ll answer that -- there is none.  In fact, it will be detrimental to U.S. soccer if he fails.  However, this is how some fans would have it end up for Bradley, just so they can say, “I told you so.”  This, my friends, is idiocy.  It is the same mentality that has had some fans ridiculing Freddy Adu, excoriating Bornstein and lambasting Ricardo Clark.  I agree that criticism is part of the job description for a national team player.  If a player is not doing what he is capable of, then that is fair game to me.  On the other hand, there is no sin in a player just not being good enough for the USMNT and I don’t think a fan should personally attack a player for that.  Some people seem to take joy in the failure of American players, which makes no sense.  Again, how does it help if an American player is not successful?  The fact is that if the U.S. is ever going to win a World Cup, it is going to need every player’s help.  Even players who never get to the USMNT can advance the cause.  Every player abroad has the chance to make a good impression on someone which may create an opportunity for another American at another time.  Howard and Dempsey weren’t the first Americans in England.  Bocanegra and Edu were not the first Americans in Scotland.  Someone laid the groundwork before them.  Bornstein might open a door for someone else in Mexico.  Michael Bradley may create a chance for someone in Italy.  Maybe an American’s performance abroad will cause a foreign player or coach to come to MLS.  You never know.  As a result, U.S. fans ought to be rooting for any American who laces them up and gives it his all.  In the same way, all U.S. soccer fans ought to be rooting for Bob Bradley now.

So, there it is.  That’s my case.  I hope you can see that it’s time to bury the hatchet with Bob Bradley.  If it makes you feel any better, you can say you are not surrendering, you are just ending hostilities.  Does that work for you?  Good.  Now let the healing begin!

Bradley makes debut for Chievo in a 2-1 loss to Parma

Bradley with Chievo
*He entered in the 72nd minute in a 2-1 loss to Parma.
*Highlights after the jump...





szólj hozzá: P2-1C

On Jurgen Klinsmann, the near future of U.S. soccer and 'knowing'

By Jared Launius

U.S. Soccer fired Bob Bradley today, and one thing we can all agree on – perhaps the only thing we can all agree on, based on what I've been reading – is that we were all caught off guard by it. The Gold Cup Final loss to Mexico is over a month stale and most of us, I think, kind of thought if U.S. Soccer was going to sack Bradley, it would have been done in the couple weeks following the match.

But, things that shock us at first tend to make more sense as more thought is put into them and, sure enough, if you tilt the firing into a bit of a different light, you can certainly talk yourself into the idea the U.S.S.F. decided after the GC Final it was going to fire Bradley, but wanted to wait until a replacement was secured before doing as much.* That's the popular theory, at least, as is the idea said presumed replacement is Jurgen Klinsmann, a long-time Sunil Gulati temptress.



*And can you really blame them? The last two courtships of Klinsmann – following the 2006 and 2010 World Cups – were annoyingly long, drawn out and rather difficult to watch. Keeping everyone in the dark for attempt number three is a pretty commendable move, all things considered.

Now, this is the part in the post at which I tell you the following thousand or so words all operate, more or less, under an assumption. It's a pretty safe assumption, I think, but the powers that be have yet to confirm Jurgen Klinsmann will be the next coach of the United States Men's National Team. So yeah, that's probably worth noting. You know, the facts.

Anyway, yes, it certainly looks like the sidelines at USMNT games will look a bit swankier and certainly a lot less sweat pantsier. Bradley is out, Klinsmann is probably in, and the next few days you'll all be reading a lot about exactly what will happen with the national team during this cycle. Some people know Klinsmann will fail. Some people are certain he will succeed. Other people will be to charmed by his accent to form much of an opinion.

Now, one thing I should probably mention about myself is that I don't really know anything about anything. Not about soccer, at least. I don't know what will happen throughout the coming cycle under Klinsmann. I don't know if he will improve the youth development system. I think he'll probably try, but I'm not sure how he'll fare. I don't know if he'll make player and personnel decisions that won't make me wad up the nearest piece of paper to me and throw it across the room the way Bradley's did or not. I don't know much of anything, really, except the gin in my mom's basement is delicious tonight and that I'm excited to see what happens under Klinsmann.

I also don't think, though, that much of anybody else really knows either, though some will tell you they do. That's not to criticize them – there's a lot of people out there that are paid money to make ascertations about what will happen going forward, and I salute them! Maybe they know more than I do. I just have a hard time believing they really can be so sure. And here's why:

What I Do Know About Jurgen Klinsmann, A List:

-He was a spectacular striker in his playing days, a near 20-year career that took him to some of Europe's biggest leagues and most prestigous clubs. He was capped over a hundred times by the German national team and was on the 1990 West Germany team that won the World Cup.

-His first coaching gig was as German national team coach. He took over the side after it failed to get out of group play in the 2004 European Championships. As Germany was to be host of the 2006 World Cup, Klinsmann didn't have to go through qualifying matches. His lone competitive matches before the World Cup, then, came in the 2005 Confederations Cup, where he coached the host nation to a rather meh third-place finish. In the World Cup the following year, Klinsmann's Germany won its group, beat Sweeden and Argentina – the latter, it should be mentioned, on penalties – in the knockout stages and lost in extra time to eventual champion Italy in the semifinals. His side then won the third place match versus Portugal.

Klinsmann's success in guiding the host nation to a third place finish was well-received, so much so that Klinsmann was given the Bundesverdiestkreuz by the German government, which I can only hope is an honor matched only by its remarkable name. He then resigned on good terms, citing his family as the main reason he didn't want to continue on with the everyday grind of national team duty.

Klinsmann's legacy – an overall success, as I understand it – was predicated on his willingness to push forward with a youthful side and for improving the youth development program in Germany. Pundits will point out then-assistant and current German coach Joachim Low was responsible for the team's tactical success, and that is supported by Germany's continued success following Klinsmann's departure. It's also worth remembering his nation hosted the 2006 World Cup. I'm not saying Germany was necessarily expected to take third place, but I think anything short of the quarterfinals would have been a pretty huge disappointment.

-After two years off and attempts by multiple clubs to lure Klinsmann back into coaching, he took the manager's job for the 2008-2009 Bundesliga season at Bayern Munich, a team he spent some time with during his playing career. Things in Bavaria, overall, didn't seem to go that well, as Jurgen was let go before the end of his team's campaign. They lost in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League (to, it bears mentioning, eventual champions Barcelona), the quarterfinals of the German Cup and were in third place in the Bundesliga table when he was let go with five matches remaining.

Any season that sees you fired before it ends can't be quantified a success, and indeed, those types of results at Bayern Munich don't generally win you very many fans. I'd argue that 29 league games isn't enough to fire a coach that isn't tanking, but I'm sure the decision-makers at Bayern acted in a way they thought was best, and they definitely were more familiar with the situation that I was.

-Since he left Bayern, Klinsmann hasn't taken on another coaching gig. He's done some consultant work for Toronto FC, but that seems to be it. He lives in California with his lovely family and his nice dog Skip, I'm sure.

So yeah, that's what I know about Jurgen Klismann. His managerial experience, all told, is combined to equal less than three years. He's had two gigs. One was an overall positive, though looking a little closer at in makes you wonder exactly how positive it was, and the other one was an overall negative, though looking at it a little closer makes you wonder exactly how negative it was.

Forgive me, but that doesn't really seem like a whole lot to go off of. I certainly don't think it's enough to tell us Klinsmann will be great, and I certainly don't think it's enough to tell us he'll be a disaster. You can argue he hasn't earned anything, and I'd agree, though that's more just because I don't think there's enough of a track record there to decisively say he's done anything good or bad, not because I think KLINSMANN SUXXXX.

I guess what I'm saying – and I apologize if you feel like you've just been talked in a circle, as I'm feeling a bit dizzy, too – is that I don't think there's anything out there that can tell us how successful Klinsmann will be. The sample is tiny, the results inconclusive.

And I'm not sure what this is all to say about my feelings on Klinsmann's hire. I thought it looked like Bradley's message had gone stale on the players, so letting him go wasn't particularly upsetting for me.* I'm not certain there's a manager available out there that could provide great improvement, and I'm even less certain a manager could do a whole lot anyway, as the player pool, at the time at least, seems to have stagnated. Klinsmann seems like he could do well. He also seems like he could do poorly.

*I should say it's not upsetting from a soccer standpoint. Interesting side story: I'm a Kansas City Royals fan. Laugh. No, really, go ahead, laugh. I'll give you a second. Alright, ready to go on? Yeah, I'm a Royals fan. I'm 22 years old and I've seen a full lifetime's worth of managers fired – four in the last nine years alone. From a baseball standpoint, I've been perfectly happy to watch them all walk away. Part of me though, always pities those guys, and not just because they were fired by the worst team in baseball over the last 20 years. It's sad and a bit scary to watch people get cast into unemployment like that. I always know they'll find jobs, just like I know Bradley will, but I always finding myself pitying the guys who get fired from being paid to coach a professional sport. Is that weird?

All that I really know is that I don't know. And I don't mean that in the way it's literally impossible to know what will happen in the future, as it hasn't happened yet. I mean it in the way that I don't think there's enough of a track record out there for us to truly know what Klinsmann is. I'm not defending Klinsmann or bashing him, supporting the hire or blasting it. I really hope he can improve the youth development program in the U.S. and use his charming accent to coach the Yanks up. That, I'm assuming, is what he's being brought in to do. I just don't think think the jury should be settled on him before he's even coached a match – or, for that matter, before he's even been named coach. Far too often – particularly with Twitter and blogs and everything else – we feel like we have to have a stark opinion from the outset on something, when really, we don't have to. It's OK to let things happen and comment on them as they go along, really.

I don't know what's going to happen with Jurgen Klinsmann, but I know we're all getting our chance to find out really soon. Let's let that happen before we decide how good he was.