Former USA manager accuses Jrgen Klinsmann of jockeying for his job and calling his 2011 firing a mistake
New Swansea City manager Bob Bradley broke his five-year silence on the end of his tenure as coach of the US national team, accusing Jrgen Klinsmann of jockeying for his job and calling his firing a mistake.
From the day I got fired by the US, I have not said one thing publicly about their team, alright? Bradley said on Friday during his first press conference since taking over at Swansea. I dont appreciate the way it was done, I think they made a mistake.
When asked what he thought of Klinsmanns complimentary comments regarding his recent appointment, the 58-year-old Bradley was thankful but went on to suggest the glowing reference wasnt exactly present back when he was managing the team. When he did commentary on the 2010 World Cup, he was already jockeying for the job, said Bradley, who went on to say that for a long time he had kept his mouth shut to support the team, especially since his son, Michael, is the captain. If he has said something in a nice way, I appreciate it.
Back in 2010, Klinsmann was a pundit for ESPNs World Cup commentary team and one day after USA lost to Ghana in the round of 16, the ex-German international commented on the current state of US soccer and what the country should do in order to develop as a soccer nation. From the pay-to-play format at youth level to the need for more Hispanic inclusion, it did seem as if Klinsmann was marketing his own candidacy for the job. Ive been here for 12 years now, Klinsmann said, after Mike Tirico confirmed his close ties with the US.
Following the World Cup, Bradley signed a contract extension until 2014 that would have kept him in charge until at least the following tournament in Brazil. But one year later, after taking the US to the Gold Cup final – where they lost to Mexico 4-2 – Bradley was fired by the federation on 28 July 2011. He finished his tenure with a 43-12-25 record including a Gold Cup in 2007 and Confederations Cup runners-up finish two years later.
Swansea City fans should perhaps focus more on his work with Egypt where Bradley took charge of the the Pharaohs at a time of tumultuous unrest within the country. Despite the fact that the Egyptian Premier League was suspended due to the revolution, Bradley and his wife, Lindsay, stayed in Cairo and led them to within one match of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup when they lost to Ghana in the third and final round of qualifying. He ended his role in 2013 with with 24 wins, five draws and only seven losses.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/oct/07/bob-bradley-jurgen-klinsmann-jockeying-usa-job
