Bob Bradley

Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of Toronto FC.

A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton University, Bradley coached in the American college game and Major League Soccer (MLS), managing the Chicago Fire, MetroStars, and Chivas USA over nine seasons. In 2006, he was appointed manager of the United States men's team, winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2007 and finishing runner-up in 2009 and 2011 as well as in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. His team also reached the last 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He then managed Egypt.

He then became the first American to manage a team in a European first division with Stabæk of Norway in 2014. He moved on to French club Le Havre and Welsh side Swansea City, becoming the first American to manage a Premier League club, but was fired less than three months later. He returned to MLS, managing Los Angeles FC and Toronto FC.

Early life and career

Bradley was born and raised in New Jersey, playing soccer at West Essex High School and Princeton University. Following his graduation from Princeton, Bradley briefly worked in the Procter & Gamble executive training program before entering the Ohio University sports management graduate school in 1981. While there, Bradley's managing career began when he was named head coach of the Ohio University Bobcats's NCAA Division I soccer program at the age of 22. After two seasons with Ohio, Bradley worked as an assistant coach and scout for University of Virginia manager Bruce Arena for two years before taking the top job at his alma mater, Princeton. Bradley led the Tigers from 1984 to 1995, winning two Ivy League titles and reaching the NCAA Final Four in 1993.

Coaching career

Major League Soccer

In 1996, Bradley was hired again as Arena's assistant, this time with D.C. United of Major League Soccer, the then newly formed U.S. professional league. After back-to-back championship seasons with DC, he became the first head coach of the Chicago Fire, an expansion team that began play in 1998. Bradley steered the newly assembled squad to the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup double in its first season and was named MLS Coach of the Year for his achievements. He won a third trophy in 2000, when the Fire again won the Open Cup.

After the 2002 MLS season, Bradley resigned as manager of the Fire to return to New Jersey as head coach of the MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls). Bradley began his tenure with the historically underachieving team headed in the right direction as the MetroStars advanced to the U.S. Open Cup final for the first time in club history in 2003 as well as earning a playoff berth. Bradley also gained attention for an infamous incident in a match against D.C. United that season in which he exploited an MLS rule allowing a 4th substitution for a goalkeeper by switching starting goalkeeper Tim Howard into an outfield player so that midfielder Eddie Gaven (who would go on to score the winning goal) could enter the game classified as a goalkeeper, before switching positions with Howard after ten seconds of play.

Bradley stayed with the MetroStars for three years before he was fired with three games left in the 2005 regular season. The club had suffered losses in back-to-back fixtures and diminishing playoff prospects prior to Bradley's firing. Shortly after leaving the MetroStars, Bradley was named the manager at Los Angeles club Chivas USA for the 2006 season. Bradley revived a Chivas USA team that had endured a poor inaugural season in 2005, discovering young talents such as Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein and leading the team to a third-place finish in the Western Conference before losing in the playoffs to eventual champions Houston Dynamo.

United States

Following the U.S. men's national team's disappointing showing at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, U.S. Soccer appointed Bradley the interim coach of the team, succeeding Arena in December 2006. On his debut on January 20, his team defeated Denmark 3–1 in a friendly in Los Angeles. In May, having won three out of four games, he was appointed permanently. His team won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup in June, with a 2–1 final win over Mexico. Weeks later at the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela, the team lost all three games, his first defeats in charge.

Bradley led the U.S. team to an unlikely second-place finish in the 2009 Confederations Cup, including a 2–0 semi-final victory over European champions Spain, ending the Spaniards' 35-game unbeaten streak and 15-game winning streak. In the final, Bradley's U.S. team opened up a 2–0 lead on Brazil before losing 3–2. With the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup taking place immediately following the Confederations Cup, Bradley selected a largely second-tier squad, which advanced to the final before losing 5–0 to Mexico. With a 3–2 away win against Honduras on October 10, the team secured qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

At the World Cup finals in South Africa, the U.S. finished on top of Group C after a 1–1 draw with England, a 2–2 draw with Slovenia, and a 1–0 victory over Algeria through a dramatic late goal by Landon Donovan. In the knockout round, Bradley and the U.S. faced Ghana, who eliminated the Americans for the second consecutive World Cup with a 2–1 victory in extra time following a 1–1 draw.

Following the World Cup, Bradley signed a contract extension in August 2010 to remain as the U.S. coach until the 2014 World Cup after a reported approach from English club Aston Villa. In June 2011 he led the U.S. to the final of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, but an early 2–0 lead in the final was overturned by Mexico, who eventually won 4–2. On July 28, 2011, he was relieved of his duties by the United States Soccer Federation to be replaced by former Germany national team manager Jürgen Klinsmann.

Egypt

On September 14, 2011, Bradley reached a deal to take over as manager of the Egypt national team beginning October 15, 2011. He made his debut on November 14, in a friendly against Brazil, losing 2–0. Bradley was praised for choosing to live in Egypt despite the unrest following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and continuing to guide the Pharaohs despite the suspension of the Egyptian Premier League following the Port Said Stadium riot.

Egypt was perfect in its first six matches of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but fell decisively to Ghana in the third round playoffs. Bradley was not retained following Egypt's elimination. ''American Pharaoh'', a documentary by Hossam Aboul-Magd about Bradley's tenure in Egypt, aired on PBS on June 16, 2014.

Stabæk Fotball

It was reported on January 2, 2014, that Bradley had agreed to manage Stabæk Fotball in Norway, making him the first American to manage a club in a European top flight. His competitive debut came on March 30, in a 3–0 home win over Sogndal