Bob Bradley named head coach of LAFC

By Ivan Yeo

LAFC has turned to one of the biggest names in American Soccer to guide them in their inaugural season in MLS and beyond. On Thursday, LAFC announced the hiring of Bob Bradley as its first head coach.

This will be Bradley’s second goal around in Los Angeles. Bradley coached Chivas USA in 2006 and that year, he took the second-year franchise from a last place finish in its inaugural campaign to the playoffs, where they held a one-goal aggregate lead against the Houston Dynamo in the opening round, only to see the Dynamo rally back to win the series and eventually, the MLS Cup.

Certainly Bradley’s resume fits with the lofty ambitions of the franchise. Seven months before its inaugural season in its new stadium next to the LA Coliseum, LAFC’s high-profile ownership group now has its head coach, clearing the way for the franchise to start pursuing the kind of players that LAFC hopes will take the franchise to the kind of heights on and off the field that are desired by the franchise.

Bradley is certainly nothing new to expansion franchises. in 1998, he was named head coach of the newly-formed Chicago Fire after two seasons as an assistant at D.C. United under the-head coach Bruce Arena. Bradley had immediate success with the first-year side, winning the U.S. Open Cup and MLS Cup, earning Bradley coach of the year honors that year. Bradley won another U.S. Open Cup in 2000 and stayed with the Fire until 2002, when he was named head coach of the New York Metrostars. Bradley however could not replicate his success in New York, and he was fire with three games left in the 2005 season.

Bradley was able to parlay his MLS resume into the head coach position of the U.S. national team. In his five years as USMNT head coach, Bradley won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, then led the U.S. to the final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, a run in which they upset Spain, at the time the No. 1 ranked team in the world. In it’s first appearance in a final of a FIFA-sponsored tournament, the U.S. held a two-goal lead against Brazil, but the Selecao eventually rallied back to win the match and the tournament.

Still, the experience gained by the team in the Confederations Cup would prove to be valuable in the 2010 World Cup. The U.S. finished first in its group, a feat that was sealed with Landon Donovan’s goal in stoppage time in the final group match against Algeria, one of the more dramatic moments in U.S. Soccer history. Then in 2011, Bradley led the U.S. back to the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but the U.S.’ inability to hold a two-goal lead against Mexico proved to be Bradley’s undoing, and he was fired weeks after the result.

Rather than return to MLS, Bradley chose a different venture, as he was named head coach of the Egyptian national team. Bradley coached Egypt for three years and lived in the country despite the political unrest that engulfed the nation in 2011. Bradley led Egypt through an unbeaten run through its first six matches of World Cup qualifying, but Egypt fell to Ghana in the third round of the playoffs and Bradley was not retained. His tenure as Egypt manager however was influential enough that Bradley was the subject of a PBS documentary titled American Pharoah, which aired on June 16, 2014.

Europe was Bradley’s next stop. He assumed charge of Norwegian club Stabaek in 2014, making him the first American manager in a top-flight European league. Bradley won 28 games with Stabaek and led the Norwegian club to the qualifying stages of the Europa League. Bradley then went to French Ligue 2 side Le Havre, where they just missed out on promotion to Ligue 1. Then on October 3, 2016, Bradley again made history when he was named head coach of Swansea City, making him the first American manager in the Premier League. Bradley’s tenure with Swansea City however turned out to be a short one, as he was fired after just 11 matches.