FanNation - The Republic of Sport

They dropped the ball on hiring Klinsmann. He wanted the job, the fans wanted him to have the job. Now we're stuck with yet another scrub american coach, Bruce Arena part 2. The US team will be stuck in mediocrity again.

i agree with you partly cuerazo in the fact that they dropped the ball on signing Klinsmann but i really don't think that we'll be in mediocrity. espicially when Bruce Arena was here we were not mediocre. we were pretty darn good except for the 06' world cup. but in the world cup everyone seems to forget that we were grouped with some of the hardest teams in the tournament and the eventual cup winners. lets go get em' Bob!

He's proven that he's an astute student of the game and knows how to handle his players. Bradley's earned several strong results (the Guatemala game notwithstanding but when a team is only trying to play defense or play for a tie, as Guatemala did, most teams are going to have trouble breaking them down so that result wasn't terrible). I think he' s the right choice for the job - no foreign coach, other than Klinsmann would really understand the American 'mentality' and game so he's the right choice by a long-shot.

GO USA!

Whoever the coach is, US soccer needs to grow some balls and play outside the US against some teams that are worth a crap. I'm tired of seeing us play the Denmark B squad or Poland. Go play in South America and Europe against World Cup Quality teams. We're not going to get better if we never play in a hostile environment.

Well here we go again! Another Arena clone. This is getting old, I'm tired of seeing the same old players year in and year out. And by the way, has anyone heard of the word speed? We need guys who are not afraid to mix it up, and are techncially sound! (adu)

As long as Bradley doesn't play favorites and value loyalty too much (like lousy Arena), maybe he'll be good. I'm sick of seeing a bunch of washed-up old fogeys on the field. A youth movement is key. And if he gets rid of soft Landon Donovan, then i'll be Bradley's biggest fan.

Donovan has played well for Bradley since Arena left.

Quad has it right though, the US has to play World Cup teams all the time not just in the World Cup.

I did like the Venezuela matchup earlier in the year, but it was on US soil.

In the next month the US has four games, versus China, versus Guatemala, versus Trinidad and Tobago, and versus El Salvador. The three CONCACAF teams are part of the Gold Cup I believe.

But I'm really looking forward to CopaAmerica when the US plays Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia all in Venezuela.

The US also has an August friendly scheduled versus Sweden in Sweden, which is another decent fixture.

It is easy to gauge a coach's performance based on playing CONCACAF opponents.....had Bradley coached against the likes of Brasil, Italy, Germany, & Argentina, etc. (i.e. the elite teams), I do not believe the results would have been the same and Bradley would not even be considered today. The U.S. is making a big mistake hiring an American to coach the team and the only way to take the U.S. game to the next level is to have a foreign coach. It was obvious during the '06 WC that the U.S. was outcoached and tactically inferior. I pity the results of Copa America....

Our US team first and foremost definetly needs to start playing some games over seas like the one where we got thrashed by Germany just before the world cup. The only Donovan I want to see is the one who is not affraid to take players on and create chances. He is truely the best offensive threat the US have until Dempsey and Johnson fulfill there talents. We have a great young team especially on the defensive side of the ball with our entire starting back line ( except for Conrad ) all play either in the Germany or England. I agree I wish Klinsy would have accepted the postion but lets at least give Bradley a go he deserves it.

Why does Bradley deserve a chance Arsenal? The U.S. cannot even connect two passes together and Bradley's selection of players to field is questionable. I saw the U.S. play against Mexico and Guatemala.....the U.S. was outplayed by Mexico and could not do anything against a sub-par team like Guatemala. While the U.S. beat Mexico (the U.S. has a physco advantage over Mexico) and tied Guatemala, those games should be automatic wins. But, I agree with most others here that the U.S. will only be better when they consistently play top teams in hostile terroritories and not in the comfort of the U.S. stadiums. Then, and only then, will U.S. Soccer be able to tell what kind of coach Bradley is.....but, I am afraid that Bradley is an inferior coach and he would be better off coach NAIA or high school soccer.

Bradley is less of an ego than Arena, which means he'll likely be more flexible re making adjustments than Arena was. I do like Bradley and am curious to see how he does with this. That said, I would have preferred a high-profile coach, one who just by being named US coach, would have brought added credibility to soccer in the US (which also would be a significant psychological boost). I actually don't think Klinsmann was the right choice as he has very limited experience (and I could have gotten Germany to the semi-finals IN GERMANY). I think now was the time for shelling out big cash for Hiddink or Pekerman or Scolari or someone like that. It has become popular to say we need a coach who understands American soccer. I disagree. At this point in time, I think we need a coach who understands world soccer (even if it's an American coach) so that Americans can better understand the world game - highlighting the strengths of the American style while working to lose the weaknesses.

ARSENE WENGER!!

Bradley did well with the US, especially in the Ecuador game. With the Ecuador game in particular, the US was moving the ball really well through midfield, and I thought it was the best they've played since World Cup '02 v. Germany and World Cup '06 v. Italy. Keep in mind that Bradley used the Guatemala game to look at other choices (read: 2nd string) which is what friendlies are supposed to be for, especially when no tournaments are in the immediate future.

I disagree with BeercheeseHarley, in that Klinsy did more than simply have Germany succeed. Don't forget, he drastically changed the way Germany played to a wide open, freely moving team, so it's not just that he gave Germany more of the same on home soil. I personally was hoping he'd be the US coach and I would have welcomed other foreign choices but now that Bradley's done well with CONCACAF teams let's see if he can build it into doing well against the world's best, such as Argentina, Brazil, and many of the European teams.

I thought it was stupid to name an "interim" coach, in that it shows we have indecisive leadership, and I don't think it's good in general to just keep switching coaches (a few months with this guy, a few months with that guy), so I'm glad we'll actually have an official coach. I personally don't have a problem seeing if an American coach CAN actually succeed against the world's best, but perhaps more importantly, I want to see us play inspired & beautiful soccer. Got that, Bradley?? I just stuck up for you, go on and come through for us!!

HEY REAL FOOTBALL FAN. Your an idiot. The US totally crushed Mexico. Since you think Bradley is a sub par coach it make Mexico look like athe bunch of hacks they are. In the Guatamale game he capped about 5 new players. That the only reason the game came out a draw. Bradley will do fine. You will not!

Barca - you would not know what to do with beautiful football if it hit you on the side of the head. I challenge you to go back and explain how the U.S. "crushed" Mexico? While I admit that the score favored the U.S., both goals were not because the U.S. were constantly on the attack. One goal was off a corner where the U.S. has the height and strength advantage over the Mexicans. The second goal was a break away goal in the dying minutes of the match. If you truly watched the game, you would have noticed that the U.S. (1). could not string two passes together in a row, (2). lost the midflied to Mexico, (3). played counter-attack kick ball, (4). waited for deadball situations, and (5). simply got outplayed by Mexico (even though the score did not dictate that).

The U.S. will continue to have success against CONCACAF teams playing this way but not against the elite teams of the world.

Against Guatemala, the U.S. again could not muster any kind of attack nor control the ball or midfield. There was zero creativity nor ball possession and Bradley's tactics and line-up was absolutely horrible (starting with his own kid playing).

Bradley will look successful in CONCACAF play but have as much success as Arena in '06 or Sampson in '98.

How about the U.S. finally take its game to the next level with someone who knows how to play the game and has had success at the international level or a top league in Europe?

You are just pissed off that Real Madrid caught up to Barcelona in the tables this year.....did you even play football and get passed the ****-wee level in your state?

Nice to see maturity here. Take your e-fights elsewhere please. On the topic at hand, I am still not sure what to make of Bradley, but I do feel removing the interim tag was the correct move. I am more concerned with his long term planning then any individual summer matches. For better or worse the U.S. will focus on the Gold Cup, and Copa America will be a weaker roster. This is regrettable, and debatable , but never the less is a fact.
The U.S. needs a training facility in Europe so they can stage friendly matches against top flight competition. There is also truth to the necessity of a technical ability v athleticism discussion. Team selection should move away from MLS players in my opinion, yet remain primarily merit based. Developing young central midfield players is crucial, as the 2006 World Cup showed. Reyna and Mastroeni clearly did not bring enough to the table at the crucial moments. However, until Donovan, Beasley, Convey, Dempsey, Johnson, (insert developing classic #9 striker here) and the rest of the American attacking players consistently play outside or above their perceived comfort zone, U.S. performance in the World Cup will remain poor.

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1. The U.S. does not need to travel to South America to play in front of hostile audiences.
2. Mexico is a top team.
3. Germany 06 was helped more by the draw than by Klinsman.
4. The U.S. played well in the 06 WC. If not for some horrendous referees, the U.S. beats both Italy and Ghana. Beckenbauer sacked the ref after the Ghana game.

Cmon kids, figure it out and pay attention. Mr. Bradley is a pretty good coach, so far undefeated with our boys and one of those against the hated tri color. He has show the willingness to let our boys attack for a change, and it's looking like a positive. keep in mind we havn't had the same squad for any of those matches. We are gettign "balls" and playing against some of the best this summer. Argentina in Venezuela, that may be one of the toughest games we will ever play. and we finally are taking a trip to Europe to take on Sweden. Give some time, we are heading in the right direction., Now that Mr. Bradley has a little security(for now), he can concentrate fully on how to conquer the world.

It's the team, not the coach. Until soccer starts attracting the countrys promising athletes away from the lure of NBA/NFL/MLB/NHL there will be no change. Arena, Bradley, hell Alex Ferguson, none of em will "conquer the world"..

Have to agree with Quad. The USA will never be competetive in European WC's until they actuallly PLAY in Europe. Why they don't schedule freindlys against England, Germany, Italy, ect is beyond me.