Former MLS and U.S. men’s national team coach Bob Bradley was appointed today by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to coach their senior men’s national team. Bradley, fired by the USMNT this summer, had been rumored for months to be taking over the Pharaohs but was just today confirmed finally as the head coach. This is Bradley’s first coaching opportunity outside of the United States; at various times in the past fifteen months he had been linked with Fulham, Aston Villa and Santos Laguna. Bradley follows in the footsteps of a fellow USMNT head man, Steve Sampson, who took over the Costa Rican national team after his disastrous U.S. national team stint.
While Bradley’s spokespeople have not commented on the hiring, EFA spokesman Azmy Megahed told the Associated Press that Bradley is expected to arrive in Cairo this weekend to finalise the deal. “All is good. Bradley will be here on Sunday to sign the contract,” Megahed said. Terms have not been disclosed.
During the interview process, Bradley had taken a veiled shot at American soccer, telling CNN Arabic, “The Egyptian team is well qualified to be a dangerous opponent, but it only lacks some organisation on the field. The Egyptian player is a talented one unlike the American who depends mainly on his fitness.” Bradley reportedly beat out former Colombia coach Francisco Maturana, former Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac and ex-Montenegro manager Zoran Filipovic for the head coaching job.
The Egyptian job is certainly a challenging one, as the team has recently fallen on hard times. The Pharaohs won their third straight African Cup of Nations in 2010, but failed to qualify for the 2012 tournament; it was the first time in 33 years they did not qualify for the tournament. Historically, while the team has had success in the continental tournament, it has only qualified for two World Cups with the most recent being the 1990 Italian edition. The team is mostly composed of Egyptian league players, with the biggest names being Borussia Dortmund’s Mohamed Zidan and Sunderland’s Ahmen El-Muhammadi. The roster is older and many of the upper youth team players have yet to catch on internationally, yet Egypt still has a FIFA ranking of 34.
Qualifying for the World Cup, especially with the rise of Ghana, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, will be a challenge for the Egyptians but not impossible. Currently, the Confederation of African Football is in the group stage, with Egypt in a group with Guinea (68), Zimbabwe (86), and either Comoros (175) or Mozambique (103). If Egypt finishes first, they move to the third round with the nine other group winners, where they will play five two-legged knock-out ties. The five teams with the highest point totals advance to the World Cup. This is a long way of saying that as long as Egypt takes care of business (like they should) they have a great chance of making the 2014 World Cup, which would go a long way to restoring Bradley’s international reputation.
What do you think of Bob Bradley’s new job? Is it good for U.S. soccer that an American coach is managing outside of CONCACAF?
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abdalaa
September 19, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Good luck bob in Egypt you are welcome over there
Robert
September 17, 2011 at 11:52 am
Hey Landon, Michael Bradley, Gooch, Boca, Adu, Beas, Demps–you all
have no skill, ZERO! I wonder how you all view your ex-coach and
or, father, now? What a total classless stament. Better duck over
in Egypt, Bob!
Charles
September 16, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Plus isn’t he saying by default the Egypt team doesn’t have
fitness. Less results with more talent because of superior fitness.
Charles
September 16, 2011 at 2:38 pm
I can’t believe that Bradley said that. What a moron. Yeah it must
have been coaching and fitness that got the US to the final 16
again. He must have ZERO friends on the team. Can you imagine, you
are friends with the average guys on the team ? They ask you, who
were you talking about only relying on fitness ? um,well, I was
thinking, um, well, uhhh…..
Alex
September 15, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Egypt just signed their own death certificate. Good riddance
Bradley. Get outta here and never come back! And take Michael with
you too!
Heinrich
September 15, 2011 at 10:41 am
The Egyptian player is a talented one unlike the American who
depends mainly on his fitness. SERIOUSLY? Reject his citizenship
and make him live in Egypt. Jerk. Good riddance.
GK
September 14, 2011 at 10:59 pm
I like Bob Bradley as a person and a man manager. I’ve disagreed
with many of his selections and tactics over the years but I like
the guy. However, as an American with roots in the middle east, I
can say that this is a very naive and dangerous move in regards to
Bob’s safety. This is a volatile country whose citizens just tried
to kill diplomats in the Israeli Embassy. What happens when they
lose a soccer game? Or two? It is not safe for Americans to visit
Egypt let alone coach their national team. I hope that he realizes
his mistake sooner rather than later. The job prospect in Mexico
was equally foolish. As great as the Mexican people are, their
country is in the midst of a drug war. Surely, Bob can find a job
where his safety is not an issue. This choice is a poor and
dangerous one.
kickit
September 14, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Great for Bradley. Glad to see someone recognized him for the great
job he did for the USMNT. How’s Klinsmann doing? Haven’t won a
match yet and it’s all the players fault. Where was the players to
blame when Bradley had the job? Klinsmann can do no wrong.
SSReporters
September 15, 2011 at 4:14 pm
That’s right. Klinsmann has now lost to Costa Rica and Belgium in
experimental friendlies but Bradley is a great coach because we got
to a Confed Cup final and needed a Donovan tap-in to reach the last
16 of the WC. Let’s pretend Bob Bradley didn’t lose to Panama, 4-2
and 5-0 to Mexico, or that they blew a 2-0 to Brazil and the
aforementioned Mexico. Or the fact that they routinely were a goal
behind in every other competitive match they played against a team
that wasn’t a small-island nation. Bradley did well up until 2009
and then he plateaued. If Bradley were in charge we’d still be
seeing garbage like Bornstein starting.
Soccerfane
October 19, 2011 at 12:50 pm
In a recent interview, when asked why his son played over players
that many felt were superior, Bradley replied that Michael Bradley
was the most fit and therefore the most likely choice. It appears
now that Bob has changed his mind towards the importance of
“fitness”, since his son is nowhere in the lineup. Nepotism was
always an issue with the MNT as long as Bradley was the coach.