Monday was a landmark day for US Soccer as Premier League side Swansea City announced that they had fired manager h Francesco Guidolin and replaced him with Bob Bradley. Bradley, the former US national team boss becomes the first American to manage in the Premier League.
“Bob is extraordinarily intelligent about the game, his work ethic is second to none, and the way he manages teams and deals with people are all outstanding,” U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati told The Associated Press on Monday.
“You need a number of things to go right to get an opportunity like this (in the Premier League) and to break through if you are not in the regular circle of coaches that are considered for such opportunities.”
It been a long road to the Premier League for Bradley, who seemed to think that he would never get his chance to manage in one of the big European leagues.
“In many cases decision-makers play it safe,” Bradley told the AP last year while completing his second season with Norwegian club Stabaek.
“There’s certainly a network. There are still a lot of good managers.
“There are also a lot of bad managers. It’s not to say that sometimes you don’t shake your head at how certain guys keep popping up in jobs.”
Sometimes you need a break to get ahead, and in Bradley’s case, it is Swansea’s new American owners, Steve Kaplan, a minority owner and executive vice chairman of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, and Jason Levien, a part-owner of D.C. United, took control of Swansea in July.
“He is highly regarded as a coach and has a wealth of experience on the international and domestic front,” Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said.
“He is well aware of the club’s footballing philosophy and will provide us with strong leadership qualities and a renewed belief to compete at this level.
“It is never easy changing managers, but we are looking at a long-term appointment and we are confident Bob can settle us down and stabilize matters on and off the pitch.”