KFDM COOP Posted December 7, 2006 Report Posted December 7, 2006 Bradley to be named interim U.S. coachIves Galarcep The U.S. Soccer Federation on Friday will name current Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley as U.S. national team coach a source close to the negotiations confirmed to ESPN.com on Thursday. But the hiring is only temporary. After lengthy negotiations with former German national team coach Juergen Klinsmann fell through, the USSF decided to stay close to home with its choice to replace Bruce Arena as U.S. men's national soccer team head coach. Bradley, who won an MLS Cup title with the Chicago Fire in 1998 and was recently named MLS Coach of the Year, will be hired on an interim basis, with the USSF expected to begin a new search at some point during the summer. Sources would not confirm whether Bradley will still be head coach when the U.S. national team is due to take part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup (June 6-24) and Copa Libertadores (June 26-July 15) this summer. The announcement puts an end to a more than five-month long search to find a replacement for Arena, who had his own eight-year stint as U.S. coach end after the team was eliminated in the group stages of the 2006 World Cup without winning a match. Klinsmann was the favorite for the job almost after he resigned from the German national team immediately after the World Cup, but he and U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati never could come to an agreement. Gulati had considered a long list of candidates, including former Argentina coach Jose Pekerman, current Manchester United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz and current Lyon coach Gerard Houllier, but chose to hire Bradley to handle coaching duties for the next six months. Bradley is expected to be considered for the position once the search resumes.
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