US Men’s National Team Head Coach Bob Bradley Fired

Photo by Jeremy Olson - www.digitalgopher.net

While it is probably best for the US to move on, don’t pin all the problems on Bradley.

US Soccer announced this afternoon that Men’s National Team Coach Bob Bradley has been “relieved of his duties.”

“We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years,” said Gulati. “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. It is always hard to make these decisions, especially when it involves someone we respect as much as Bob. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

According to the press release, the announcement was made after a meeting at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., between Gulati, Bradley and U.S. Soccer CEO Dan Flynn. US Soccer has said that further information will be forthcoming on Friday.

Many US Soccer supporters have been unhappy with Bradley over the past year or two and felt the team had a golden opportunity slip by them at last year’s World Cup. The US lost in the Round of 16 to Ghana and looked to have an easier path to the semifinal than most teams.

Bradley detractors were also disappointed with the team’s first-ever loss in the group stage of this year’s Gold Cup.  The team made it through to the final but was defeated by Mexico after the US was up 2-0 in the first half and went into the locker room with a 2-1 lead. The US lost that game 4-2.

Bradley has also been criticized for his defensive formations, even against weaker teams in the CONCACAF region. Nonetheless, Bradley’s record speaks for itself as coach of the USMNT for five years.

Under Bradley the team was a very respectable 43-25-12 and won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also finished 2nd in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup beating powerhouse Spain 2-0. The US went into half-time of the final leading Brazil 2-0 only to lose 2-3. Bradley’s team qualified for the 2010 World Cup faster than any US team and we advanced to the Round of 16 in South Africa by wining the group, another first for the US.

While it may be easy to criticize Bradley and an argument could certainly be made for the timing being after five years in charge, Steve Davis writing for Sports Illustrated summed up the situation adeptly in an article he penned on July 4th. Davis reviews the US Soccer program after the defeat to our border rival Mexico in the Gold Cup. And guess what? He doesn’t blame Bradley and he doesn’t blame Gulati, at least not fully.

Davis wrote: And for all the Bob Bradley critics out there, here’s some bad news: It’s not his fault. Nor is it USSF president Sunil Gulati’s fault. As principals at the top of the organizational chart, they certainly share some blame. But the issues are bigger than two men. Everybody wants simple solutions because it’s comforting to believe “easy buttons” exist. But these are complex issues with roots than run much deeper.

It’s about player development, about the continued effort to take all that raw talent and affix a higher functioning soccer brain. And it’s cyclical, too.

Davis is right. While it is probably best for the US to move on at this point and time, don’t pin all the problems on Bradley. It’s just not that simple and the man has had a good run. The fact that US Soccer supporters are so critical are a sign of a maturing soccer nation. We’re not happy with “good enough” anymore and that’s not a bad thing. But the truth is, the US Soccer program has plateaued out. While making giant strides in the 80s and 90s the steps are now smaller and the improvements are more in the nuances of the game.

When athletes recover from serious injures, they often talk about the final portion of that rehab being the hardest. I think there is metaphor there for our journey to the top. We’re closer now than we’ve ever been to playing with the best of the best and yet, we are still a long ways away. It’s taken many countries 100 years plus to get to this point in their soccer maturity. We’re not going to get there over night, no matter who is leading US Soccer, no matter who is coaching US Soccer.

U-17 National Coach Wilmer Cabrera, who is originally from Colombia, recently told Soccer America, “We have a group of players who cannot yet compete at the highest level with the top teams in the world.  At this age, our boys in the United States, they’re very young, they’re immature. At this age in the top countries, they’re already men. They’re more mature. They’re more professional. They have a more professional mentality.”

I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Bob Bradley this past February when he visited Minnesota. We talked about the crop of new talent for U.S. who are playing professionally in the US and Europe. I asked him if he was encouraged. While never saying yes or no, Bradley told me that this group of players still weren’t good enough to compete with the best in the world. He said it would take time and that our youth players still need to be more technical and were often far more immature tactically to the world’s best.

Carbrera seems to agree. He went on to say he didn’t think the US should expect top results from our youth teams at this point and time. “(Not) Unless we have an unbelievable team where we have six, seven very skillful players who can make the difference on the field. But we don’t have those types of players. I haven’t seen those players yet,” said Carbrera.

In fact, talking to a number of current and former US National Team staff coaches, their opinions run right along with Bradley and Carbrera. That is not to say we should give up and stop trying, but we must understand that this is a process and any process takes  time.

The pro club (MLS teams) sponsoring full time academies will be the first step in that positive direction. A couple of teams are already doing that. Eventually the US will move in that direction as MLS matures. Of course that won’t be the only way. There’s a need for many options to reach the pinnacle with a nation as big as ours. But in the meantime, lets just thank Bob Bradley for the accomplishments and strides he made. Hopefully the next US Men’s National Team coach, the next President of US Soccer, the next director of coaching for the club your son or daughter plays for, their next coach and a whole nation of soccer savvy fans will continue to improve the environment of soccer in our country until our dream of winning top competitions will no longer be a dream – but a reality.