Bob Bradley

Bob Bradley (born March 3, 1958 in Montclair, New Jersey) is the current manager of the United States men's national soccer team. He is the manager with the most victories in Major League Soccer history, managing the Chicago Fire, MetroStars and Chivas USA over nine seasons.

Background/College Career

Bradley played in high school at West Essex High School in Essex County, New Jersey and at Princeton University, also in New Jersey. Bradley's managing career started in 1981, when he was named the manager of Ohio University at the age of 22. He was lured away by University of Virginia manager Bruce Arena and spent two years as his assistant, before taking the top job at his alma mater, Princeton. Bradley led the Tigers from 1984 to 1995, winning two Ivy League titles and reaching the NCAA Final Four in 1993.

Major League Soccer

In 1996, Bradley became Arena's assistant once again, this time with DC United of the newly formed Major League Soccer. After two seasons there, he became the first manager of the expansion Chicago Fire, leading them to the MLS Cup and US Open Cup double in 1998. For this success, he was named MLS Coach of the Year. He won more silverware in 2000 when the Fire won the Open Cup.

After the 2002 MLS season, Bradley resigned as manager of the Fire and took the reins of his home state team, the MetroStars. The team had previously considered him for the job in 1996 and 1997. During his tenure, he had the club headed in the right direction as the MetroStars advanced to the US Open Cup final for the first time in club history in 2003. Bradley stayed with the club until October 2005, when he was fired with three games left in the regular season. The club had suffered losses in back-to-back fixtures and diminishing playoff prospects prior to Bradley's firing. Shortly after the 2005 season, Bradley was named the manager at Chivas USA. Bradley revived a Chivas USA team that had endured a poor first season in 2005, creating a reputable squad that finished third in the Western Conference in just its sophomore season.

United States

Following the American national team's disappointing showing at the 2006 Fifa World Cup, the United States Soccer Federation appointed Bradley as the interim coach of the National Team, replacing Bruce Arena. Although Bradley was widely tipped to be a future National Team manager, perhaps for the 2014 World Cup cycle, most thought that the USSF would hire German national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann for the 2010 World Cup cycle due to his success with Germany and his connections to American soccer. However, after contract negotiations with Klinsmann fell through, the USSF quickly named Bradley interim manager on December 8, 2006. Although many saw Bradley as a second choice, he quickly went about building a strong foundation for the next World Cup cycle, successfully introducing younger players into the player pool and approaching the job as though he would become the full time coach.

His tenure began successfully, leading the United States to the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup championship game, where it beat rival Mexico 2-1 on a stunning volley by Benny Feilhaber. In his first year as manager, Bradley built a 12-1-5 record, going undefeated for a period of ten games in five months. On May 15, 2007, the USSF removed Bradley's interim title and named him as the official coach.

Despite the highs of the Gold Cup, the National Team fared less well in Copa America, albeit with a roster of younger players. The team lost its first game in the Bradley era to Argentina in the Copa America opener on June 28th 2007, going down 4-1. That game was Bradley's first away game with National Team and their first loss in over a year since losing to Ghana on June 22, 2006 in the 2006 World Cup. The National Team finished Copa America without a point after losing its final two games to Paraguay and Colombia. The Team went on to lose consecutive games away to Sweden and at home to Brazil. But a pair of away wins against Switzerland and South Africa meant the Bradley era finished 2007 on a high note.

Family

Bradley comes from a family of athletes. His brother Scott played baseball for the Seattle Mariners in the 1980s and is the current coach at Princeton University. His other brother Jeff is a writer for ESPN The Magazine.

Bradley's son, Michael, was drafted by the MetroStars in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, and played for the team until a transfer to Dutch club sc Heerenveen. Michael has enjoyed success in The Netherlands, finishing joint top-scorer for Heerenveen with 15 goals in the 2007-2008 season, before transferring to play for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the German Bundesliga. He is now a regular with the national team under his father.

External links

• Bradley becomes National team coach