Wow! Interesting. Would he be the first multi-sport coach to Manage in the Premier League? Did well in charge of the Yanks. Here's a four four two article on him from a couple of months ago. Why Bob Bradley is heading for the top – one fascinating step at a time 14 July 2015 image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/sites/fourfourtwo.com/files/styles/byline_pic/public/pictures/picture-476706-1420821740.png?itok=aqqMbg2J please log in to view this image Kristan Heneage TOPICS FFT 50 MANAGERS, BOB BRADLEY, STABÆK, EGYPT, MLS,UNITED STATES, PREMIER LEAGUEcomments Kristan Heneage talks to the American envoy who listens, learns and adapts... When Bob Bradley arrived in Egypt to coach the national team, he didn’t speak Arabic. However, he quickly learned the meaning of ‘كأس العالم’ (Kasila Alam): ‘World Cup’. The country was desperate to qualify for the global get-together. That yearning stemmed from a bizarre duality in which the country dominated the Africa Cup of Nations – when Bradley arrived in 2011, they had won the last three editions – but only qualified for the World Cup twice, once before World War Two. It concocted a high-pressure situation, but one that Bradley seemed to enjoy. He often mingled with locals, taking walks with his wife through the Cairo markets. “ I was taught by my father to stand up for what is right and what you believe in - Bob Bradley By then he was in his fifties, with three decades of coaching behind him: he had started in 1981 with the Ohio Bobcats aged just 22, in part because the opportunities to play professionally “just weren’t there”. Yet even all that experience couldn’t prepare him for what would unfold with the Pharaohs. Not for the first time in Egypt, politics and football blended together in February 2012 with the Port Said Stadium riot, in which at least 72 people died. Bradley, watching Zamalek versus Ismaily in Cairo with his coaching staff, was made aware of the situation – as well as the fact the game in front of him would not continue. image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...blic/port_said_stadium_riot.jpg?itok=4HES-0u- please log in to view this image The Port Said riot tore apart Egyptian football “It’s pretty clear this was not a case of fan violence,” Bradley told ESPN in the wake of the riot. He was right, and more impressively he was willing to say so publicly as the national team’s head coach. “That’s how I was taught by my father, to stand up for what is right and what you believe in,” Bradley tells FourFourTwo. Amid mounting tension, during which the domestic league was suspended, Bradley became a voice of reason and someone willing to listen before he spoke. As goalkeeper coach Zaki Abdel-Fattah put it, “He was more important than the US Embassy.” ALSO ON FFT.COM Who's Bob bothering in FourFourTwo's 50 Best Football Managers in the World 2015? Learn to listen, listen to learn “One of the things I said in Egypt and here [at current club Stabæk] – maybe on the first day – was ‘I don’t come here with all the answers’,” Bradley explains. “‘I come here to observe and listen. Don’t get me wrong, I have my own ideas, but I also need to get to know you.’” That willingness to understand is why so many players stay in touch. Players like Enoch Kofi Adu, a Ghanian midfielder who joined Stabæk last year on a six-month loan from Club Brugge. His form in Norway earned him a move to the Champions League with Malmö FF. “His career just needed a reboot,” Bradley laughs, adding that a week doesn't go by without him hearing from the midfielder. image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...-image/public/bob_bradley_2.jpg?itok=ERYZc8TR please log in to view this image Bradley: "I don’t come here with all the answers" At Stabæk, where Bradley has been since January 2014, the loss of key players has been an unfortunate consequence of Bradley’s success and the club’s poor financial situation. Tipped to struggle in the Tippeligaen, they are currently second behind traditional powerhouse Rosenborg. That form has seen the likes of Morten Thorsby and Franck Boli join Adu in being prised away by foreign suitors. That has meant evolution for Bradley, previously used to the relatively closed systems of international and MLS management. But some things remain the same: asked how he copes with losing prized assets, he simply says “I still try to figure out, with the group of players we have, how to take advantages of their strengths.” Adapt and thrive “ It looks a mess, but Bradley is in complete control - Norwegian television His adaptability is impressive. With Egypt, the suspension of the domestic league meant his players were losing match sharpness. Civil war and revolution might seem a reasonable excuse but with World Cup qualifiers looming, Bradley organised training camps and matches in a variety of locations. “We had to go anywhere we could to get games,” he explains. “We played in Dubai, we played some games in Abu Dhabi, Sudan, we were going anywhere for matches. But during that whole period we were together a lot.” Breeding a togetherness amongst the squad has been a foundation of Bradley’s success throughout his career: the team beats the individual. However to describe him simply as a motivator is reductionist. image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...-image/public/bob_bradley_1.jpg?itok=EjWRsjn1 please log in to view this image Bradley has battled against adversity... and won “Bob is the kind of guy who is very detail-orientated,” says Jesse Marsch, who won the 1998 MLS Cup with Bradley’s Chicago Fire team and is now head coach of the New York Red Bulls. “He works very hard and tries to look at things from a lot of different angles.” That helps him see things others might not. Speaking after watching a week’s worth of his training sessions with Stabaek, one Norwegian broadcaster said: “It looks a mess, but Bradley is in complete control.” Attempting to explain the ‘mess’, Bradley says: “There’s a package of things that need working on every day. If you see Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, these are coaches who are on the field with little details in positioning and where the ball goes.” Watch and learn “ I’d love to go to any club that has a way of doing things – that history. Where could that be? It could be in a lot of places - Bob Bradley To witness Bradley at work is to see some of the same traits that Mourinho and Guardiola possess. Equally, the way he carries himself, his tone, it demands respect but in a calm way. Whether it is with his the Gold Cup-winning US team or Stabaek, he is keen to impart his ideas. Those have been honed by what he calls his “10,000 hours”. Bradley closely studied teams like Barcelona and Juventus training, and it left a lasting impression. Early in his career, the comparisons were obvious: his Princeton University side closely resembled the Milan side of the early ‘90s, with Marsch operating in the role of Demetrio Albertini, another in the role of Franco Baresi and so on. His education continues: he is currently undertaking his UEFA Pro Licence, a necessary next step on the path to Europe’s upper echelons (it is a mandatory qualification for most top divisions). Bradley’s time at Stabæk has brought consistent speculation over jobs in Sweden, Denmark and England. image: http://images.cdn.fourfourtwo.com/s...public/bradley_chicago_fire.jpg?itok=496y9zmA please log in to view this image Bradley, back in 1998, as Chicago Fire boss Asked if he is ready to make the next step up, he is typically thoughtful, seeing both sides. “I always have the confidence in my ability, but the question is if a team in the Bundesliga needs a coach, have I proved myself to them?” He will also not accept the first offer that arrives. Passion for the game is something Bradley talks about throughout our conversation. It’s why he chose the small club of Stabæk in Norway when friends and advisors questioned it. Pristine facilities and flashing lights are no enticement, rather the chance to embed into a culture and grow himself, even at 57. “When I went to Athletic Bilbao recently it was because they sponsor a film festival,” he says. “A club like Athletic Bilbao that has so much passion in the club and what their youth system and first team is all about, I’d love to go to any club that has that way of doing things – that history. Where could that be? It could be in a lot of places.”
I've had a bloody long day, I'm really tired and lost all sense of humour, so please, can someone just tell me that this is a ****ing joke!
If it makes you feel better it was only on Talk ****e that i heard it mentioned. Def said we were in some sort of talks though!
I'm sure people were ranting about him as a coach a few years ago. Not convinced. Think I'd put him ahead of Pearson/Allardyce. More how I feel about them than how I feel about him.
Unknown quantity for me.. Who knows..If he does come he could be the one to transform us or he could fall flat. One thing for certain he or anyone else for that matter stands a better chance of success with the fans behind him..
Yep, because ultimately I don't hate him more than I love Sunderland. ****ing 'Orrid question that mate have a word with yourself
Disastrous appointment if this happens. Now is not the time for an untried manager at this level, with this much pressure and so much riding on our survival. He might be a fantastic manager, but to hit the ground running in a relegation dog fight...I'm just not sure. With so much on this appointment, we need a tried and trusted guy who has been here before and succeeded. There is only one guy. Big Sam.
We've had tried and tested we've had unknown quantities it doesn't matter who we get in we always seem to fail. I'm past caring to be honest wot will be will be. Does annoy me though that because we haven't appointed anyone yet were struggling to get someone press are ****ers
I'd find this a far more interesting appointment than Sam. I know that Sam is seen as some sort of safe pair of hands, but I don't like the idea of just accepting negative football to achieve possible mediocrity. I'd rather that we went down trying to be positive. Jan Age Fjortoft was on Talksport this morning, and was full of praise for Bob Bradley. I'd be quite pleased if we went for this option. On the other hand, I was all for us appointing Solskjaer in tha past, and he didn't work out too well for Cardiff, so what do I know.
Whoever comes in is irrelevant if we can't get rid of the troublemaking little sh1ts in the dressing room with the "THATS NOT THE WAY WE DO THINGS AROUND HERE MATE" attitude. Bob Bradley might just work if the dressing room could be filled with lads who want to wear the shirt above all else.
Talkshite are hilarious - they have the "breaking news" that we're going for Bradley - then they speak to his current chairman who says there has been no approach - so they try to make it look like we're the ones in the wrong!! (Was listening to it just around 10 minutes ago and the way they put it across was as if it was our fault we hadn't approached him!) Stabaek chief executive Lars Hjorth has told talkSPORT the club will not stand in Bob Bradley’s way if Sunderland come calling. Bradley, who has been in charge of the Norwegian top-flight side for the past two years, has emerged as a surprise contender to become the Premier League strugglers’ new boss. Hjorth insists he has yet to receive an approach from the Black Cats to speak to the American but he says the 57-year-old, who led his national team at the 2010 World Cup, would have his blessing to make the move to England. “Bob is allowed to speak with anybody if he wants. That is the contract he made with us when he came to Stabaek,” said Hjorth, in an exclusive interview with Ian Abrahams. “Bob has done a tremendous job here, he is a fantastic person, and if he can make the step up in his career we would wish him luck. “We haven’t had an approach yet but if Bob got an offer from a club in the Premier League, we would be very happy for him. “I know that one of his biggest wishes is to train a club in the Premier League so if he gets an offer, we will wish him good luck, and we will be very proud as a small club in Norway to give him the chance to do that.” Jan Aage Fjortoft believes Bradley would be a good appointment for Sunderland, who have yet to win in the Premier League this season. Hjorth agrees with his fellow Norwegian, claiming the former USA boss would easily adapt to English football. “In my opinion he could take over any club in Europe without a problem, maybe apart from the biggest clubs,” he said. “He has experience of national teams with USA and Egypt. And knowing him for the last two years as a person, as a trainer, I’m sure he would get success in any league he went to.” Read more at http://talksport.com/football/exclu...insists-there-has-been-no#3TbEiwrFHLTge6RG.99
