December 8, 2006
SI.com - Klinsmann out, Bradley in
It what can only be described as stunning news, US Soccer President Sunil Gulati is expected to announce later today that negotiations with former German National Team coach and star Jurgen Klinsmann have fallen apart, Klinsmann has removed himself from the search, and that US Soccer will give Chivas USA head coach Bob Bradley the job as US Men's National Team head coach on an interim basis while they continue the search for a permanent hire.
Reportedly the falling out between Klinsmann and US Soccer wasn't about money, but rather how much control Klinsmann would get. Klinsmann asked for a lot of power within the German federation prior to his taking that job. And while it ruffled some feathers, that deal got done.
For whatever reason, that didn't happen in this case. And regardless of how this all works out in the end, right now, Sunil Gulati has a lot of explaining to do. Now I'm sure he's going to try and spin it that Klinsmann wanted more power than any coach should get. However, myself and loads of US Soccer supporters were hoping that US Soccer would take a step up when selecting a coach to replace Bruce Arena. Arena has taken the US Men's National Team to it's greatest heights. But, there is still a ways to go.
And while Bob Bradley is the winningest coach in MLS history, I'm not sure that he is the right man for this job. Bradley won an MLS Cup and US Open Cup as the head coach of the Chicago Fire in 1998. He also was named the MLS Coach of the Year in 2006 when he took second year club Chivas USA from a laughingstock to a playoff berth.
Bradley is a good coach with a solid pedigree. He was an assistant to Bruce Arena at Virginia and DC United before getting the head coaching job with the Fire. However, I have my doubts that Bradley is the type of coach that can raise the US Team's play in the future.
Although, who knows if Bradley will even be given that chance. For now, he is more a caretaker of the program as he's only an interim coach. Some reports are that he'll be given the next six months and might get the permanent job depending on how things go.
But today, I can only shake my head at how this whole situation has been handled and wonder what Sunil Gulati has been doing since Bruce Arena stepped down as the US Men's National Team manager....................................
Puerto Rico is not happy with Chris Economides and the Carolina RailHawks
Apparently the Puerto Rico Islanders were less than thrilled when the Carolina RailHawks unveiled their initial group of five player signings on Wednesday. The Islanders claim that they had a verbal agreement with Josh "Caleb" Norkus to return to the club in 2007 if the team would cover the cost of the surgery to repair a sports hernia injury that ended Norkus' 2006 season with the Islanders after only 11 games.
The Islanders no longer want Norkus on their team, but it appears that they might file tampering charges against the RailHawks with the USL.
It will be very interesting to see how this plays out and if any other teams within the USL get their feathers ruffled by the new kids on the block.
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