Americans don’t like being second class at anything. This goes for politics, sports, so and so forth. For years though, Americans abroad in the soccer world have been viewed as second class or worse. Every time a player or coach leaves our shores, they are met with either cynicism or outlandish expectations. No place is that more true than the English Premier League. The world’s most popular league has had a checkered history with its mid-1700’s defectors. USMNT staples such as Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan have been viewed as bit pieces for their clubs rather than vital contributors. Goalkeepers like Brad Friedel and Tim Howard, and maybe Brad Guzan, have showed the most staying power. Now us as a nation have our first EPL manager, Bob Bradley. His appointment at Swansea is historic, but it is a perilous position for himself and our nation’s managerial future.
Bob Bradley isn’t a man who sits idly by and waits. He is an Ivy League educated individual, but in the same breath isn’t against eating crow to prove himself. Bradley came up through the collegiate ranks before latching on as an assistant in the fledgling MLS. He took a risk by joining Bruce Arena again in our nation’s capital (the two had been coach/assistant at Virginia in the early 80’s), giving up a job at Princeton where he was revered. That risk led to three MLS head coaching gigs. He won an MLS Cup with an expansion team (Chicago) and took a club in financial disarray (Chivas USA) to the postseason. Still, Bradley left MLS for another challenge, the US Men’s youth system.
After time with the U-23’s, Bradley supplanted his mentor Arena as US Men’s National Team coach. The gig was a thankless job as his predecessor could attest to. Arena took the team to the quarterfinals in 2002, their best finish since 1930. Four years later a first round exit would spell his demise. But Bradley did not flinch in the face of such a daunting task. In fact, Bradley flourished in the role, even after being the clear second choice. The US would beat rivals Mexico on several occasions, including in the 2007 Gold Cup final. The Confederations Cup saw a second placed finish, including a win over defending European champions Spain. They would make the Round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup. He did all this while juggling one of sport’s toughest challenges, managing your kid. In the end, his resume wasn’t enough to keep the job.
At this point, Bradley had plenty of options. Return to his roots in the college game. Go back to MLS. Try his hand at punditry. These were all viable avenues for Bradley to traverse. Instead, he went to Egypt to take over their National Team. Egypt, a nation in the midst of a REVOLUTION and CIVIL WAR. Instead of taking questions on who took corner kicks better, Bradley was taking a job that literally could get him killed. Nothing from there seemed that tough. He was unsuccessful in returning the Pharaohs to the World Cup, but despite his dismissal he earned the respect of the coaching community.
But Bradley still felt he had something to prove in Europe, and didn’t care where he had to go to do it. The first stop was Norway with Stabæk. Bradley returned Stabæk to European football after a four year absence. In his next stop, Le Havre in France’s Ligue 2, he was a goal away from promotion. Yet he stayed with the club in France’s second tier, determined to get them to the first tier. But then a bigger challenge came calling. One that no American had ever answered. The English Premier League beckoned.
No American has ever managed in the Premiership. There have been Swedes, Uruguayans, Danes, and Chileans, but never an American. It all goes back to the view of American soccer/football in the eyes of the rest of the world. There is no way an American can instill his principles when his nation is still finding their feet with the sport both professionally and internationally. But that is why Bob Bradley is the perfect barrier buster. Because telling Bob Bradley “there is no way” only fuels him.
Bradley admits that he would have preferred to make the switch in the summer, but “in football you don’t control timing.” You also can’t control which opportunities arise. As Americans, we want to see Bob Bradley succeed as a trailblazer of American managers in England. We also know that Swansea has sacked two managers in a span of a year, with an interim getting the axe in between. It isn’t the ideal landing spot for Bradley, especially with the Swans struggling just above the relegation zone.
But leaving Princeton for what was primed to be NASL 2.0 wasn’t ideal. Leaving his friend and mentor for an expansion franchise wasn’t ideal. Being unceremoniously fired after a successful run with the USMNT wasn’t ideal. Managing a nation in turmoil wasn’t ideal. Plodding through Europe’s lower rungs wasn’t ideal. Bob Bradley thrives on the unideal.
He oozes determination and trusts his players to give him the same. Bradley takes challenges head on and leaves places better than he found them. He accepts media and supporter scrutiny and lets the actions of his club, not his prose, change their minds. This is a brave new world for Bob Bradley, one with many potential pitfalls. But if we’re being honest, if you look at his track record you will see there isn’t a more qualified American to take this sojourn than him.