Former USA National Team coach Bob Bradley has taken over another country’s hopes and dreams by accepting the coaching duties for Egypt.
First off, regardless of if you liked Bradley or not, this is huge news for the growth of soccer in America. This is another country, and one with a pretty good footballing history, trusting their resurgence to an American rather than to a native or European. That is a first. So before we get into analyzing how he’ll do, first a sincere congratulations is in order.
Alright that’s out of the way. Here’s what Bradley gets.
Bradley inherits a talented Egypt team, but one that has endured a terrible run of results, leading to the sacking of Hassan Shehata who, like Bradley, may have been in his role too long. Egypt missed out on qualifying for the African Cup of Nations for the first time since 1978 (they qualified, but withdrew in 1982), and will not be able to defend their three consecutive titles.
This allows Bradley to start relatively pressure free, the Pharaohs host Niger on October 7th in the final qualifier for the Cup of Nations. This presents a good opportunity for Bradley to review the different players available to him against a quality opponent (Niger leads the qualifying group).
While Sideshow Bob had his fair share of detractors, especially as his tenure wound down, it should be noted he still led the US through a relatively successful period. In just over four years Bradley went 43-25-12. His tournament results included two Gold Cup runners-up (the first with what was at best the ‘B’ team), 2nd at the Confederations Cup, and a 2nd round exit at the 2010 World Cup. Bradley also led America to the top spot in CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
Bradley certainly has his positives. He organizes very well, is disciplined, and has a good degree of success at both the club and national levels. It should be noted the USA did very well at the beginning of the Bradley era. Not to mention Bradley led the Stars and Stripes to a famous 2-0 win over Spain and nearly included a victory over Brazil. And perhaps the result that may have most influenced his hiring, a 3-0 win over Egypt in 2009, right after Egypt had beaten Italy.
The biggest faults to Bradley? He can be out-managed, especially in the 2nd half, and his message/tactics grow stale over time. Rule out the latter, because he is just starting off with Egypt. Like in the CONCACAF, Bradley won’t face many top-of-the-line managers in Africa, especially because Egypt won’t be in a major competition for a couple years. The situation is ideal for Bradley to get off to a good start.
The biggest question is one only time can answer. How will an American coach fare in an Arabic world? Will language be a barrier and burden? Will the players accept an American coach?
If Bob Bradley can overcome these boundaries he will succeed with Egypt and have them back atop the African soccer world and perhaps back in the World Cup come 2014.
