IRENE, South Africa – A day after the US’ elimination from the World Cup, Bob Bradley wouldn’t elaborate on his future with the national team and said no decisions had been reached yet. But in his typical enigmatic fashion, he sure talked like this might be the end.
“The only real comment I would make, I’ve always enjoyed new challenges,” he said from US base camp on Sunday. “But I also from Day 1 have said and consider it a tremendous honor to coach the national team.”
Bradley said there have been no conversations yet with the US Soccer Federation, but that there would be “a process” in the coming weeks in which a decision would be made. The longtime former MLS coach has a contract that expires in December, but it’s doubtful US Soccer would wait that long to make a change if it decides to do so – and it's entirely possible Bradley could step down of his own accord.
USSF president Sunil Gulati was unavailable after Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Ghana in Rustenburg that knocked the US out of the World Cup as he was on a plane to Cape Town with former President Bill Clinton for a summit on global affairs. But US Soccer told MLSsoccer.com that Gulati is expected to address the media back in Johannesburg on Monday morning.
“There’s always a process with any situation where both sides probably need time,” Bradley said, “and you go from there.”
But when asked about his future, and perhaps the possibility of taking a new coaching job – perhaps in Europe – Bradley was cryptically open-ended.
“I’ve enjoyed the opportunities that I’ve had along the way, the different challenges,” he said. “And so as I move forward, there will always be an open mind in that regard.”
In the short term, Bradley said, he’ll return home to Manhattan Beach, Calif., and go back to burying himself in soccer. He said he’ll continue to go to MLS games at the Home Depot Center, as usual, and spend some time with his wife.
Interestingly, he also added he’s already thinking about the next US fixture, a friendly with Brazil on Aug. 10 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
“When one game ends as a coach, you start thinking about the next one, believe it or not,” he said of that fixture.
We may know shortly whether Bradley will still be standing on the sidelines for that match.
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