It may not be the big team move that Bob Bradley was looking for but Le Havre is a start. After being courted by multiple different teams across the European continent the French side made the former United States Men’s National Team their coach on Monday.
Bradley signed a two-year deal with The Dean Club. His salary was not disclosed to the public. He comes to Le Havre after having coached Norwegian side Stabaek where he became the first-ever American coach to secure a birth in a European Cup competition. He is of course perhaps best known for coaching the United States Men’s National Team and for his time as the coach of the Egyptian Men’s National Team. Prior to his stint in international football Bradley coached the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, and the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.
Despite needing a new manager Bradley will not be entering Ligue 2 in a situation where his club is fighting off relegation. Le Havre are currently in fourth place (7-2-5, 23 points) in Ligue 2 just three points behind Nancy and Dijon and four points leaders Metz in the standings. The top two sides will be promoted to Ligue 1 at the end of the season. Bradley will be replacing Thierry Goudet, who was sacked back in September after losing five of the club’s first nine matches.
The move to France comes after a great deal of speculation that Bradley might be heading to Aston Villa, Sunderland, Aalborg in Denmark, and Molde FK. For whatever reason none of these opportunities worked out for Bradley, another setback in what has been a complicated road to breaking the glass ceiling in European football. In an article written by the New York Times last week Bradley intimated some of his frustrations with this system saying, ““You hear sometimes, ‘Yes, we respect what you have done, but you don’t have Premiership experience.’ In those moments, there is nothing you can do about that. For me, fine. I am just going to keep working, and maybe somebody will figure it out.”
In the end the move to Le Havre is a good step for Bradley. Ligue 2 in France is a step up from the Tippeligaen in Norway and given their standing in the table the club has a good chance of being promoted to Ligue 1 next season. He has already proven that he can work in some difficult circumstances, almost guiding Egypt to a World Cup birth despite the country being embroiled in a civil war and coaching the United States and Chivas USA under bizarre management.
Bradley is entering into uncertain territory. No American coach has ever coached in the top division of a top European league. But given where he has come from the move to French football will not be that much of a leap.
