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Bob Bradley ready for Premier League challenge after diverse career
The 58-year old American manager’s stints in Egypt, Norway and France have made him ready for the Swansea challenge.
“I love football, I love work and I believe in my ability. If someone wants to write I am an American and I don’t know s***, I am not afraid of it.”
These are certainly bold words from someone who has never managed in the Premier League, but considering the amount of experience he has from working around the world, Swansea’s new manager Bob Bradley is not one to be taken lightly.
The 58-year old American is known for his daring choices and boasts of one of the most diverse CVs in world football thanks to his stints with the US national team, the Egyptian national team, Norway’s Stabaek and Ligue 1’s Le Havre in the span of ten years.
Bradley was well-known on the American coaching circuits, and after a number of stints with Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs, he was finally offered the job to manage the national team in 2006. Bradley guided the team to a CONCACAF Gold Cup title in 2007 and the 2009 Confederations Cup final before losing to Brazil.
Then, in 2011, he left for Egypt. It was a time of great turmoil in Egypt when Bradley took over the job and in the aftermath of the Arab Spring and the uprising that engulfed Cairo, it was certainly not the job that would have attracted many. However, it did not faze the American who became a symbol of hope for the fans of the country, and under his tutelage, the national team finished their World Cup qualification campaign with a 67 per cent win rate.
Bradley’s next destination was Norway where he took charge of Stabaek, who had just won promotion to the top flight. He guided Stabaek to the Europa League and it was under Bradley that Gurpreet Singh Sandhu became the first Indian to play for a top-tier European club. When asked about Bradley, Sandhu said: “Bob is a very good coach with immense experience. It is great to be working under him and he has been really supportive. I learn a lot from him everyday.”
France was next and although he missed out on promotion with Le Havre, it was yet another move that differentiated him from managers who believe in safe choices. The Premier League is the new challenge in front of Bradley and as the first American manager in the history of the prestigious league, this will be yet another milestone for the daring manager who is known for his off-beat career choices.
