Bob Bradley has taken charge of some massive games over the course of his 35-year coaching career. The 58-year-old has captured an MLS Cup, two U.S. Open Cups and a CONCACAF Gold Cup. He led the United States to victories over Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup and to the top of group C at the 2010 World Cup.
He’s also been on the losing side of some of those momentous matches.
The 2009 Confederations Cup final loss to Brazil will live long in the memory of United States supporters. His loss to Mexico in the 2011 Gold Cup ultimately cost him the US job, while defeat to Ghana in a 2014 World Cup qualifying playoff ended his time as head coach of Egypt.
Through it all, Bradley has continued to evolve and develop, utilizing both the ups and downs in equal measure to better himself as a manager. In a revealing interview with ESPN FC, Bradley detailed how his differing experiences have made him a better manager.
“My experiences in the past in different situations help because I understand that when you come into a new situation, you don’t come in with all the answers. You have to listen. You have to observe.”
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On Saturday, April 16, Bradley faces another crucial match in his managerial career, perhaps his most personal battle to date. Appointed the manager of French Ligue 2 side Le Havre AC on November 10, 2015, Bradley was charged with helping the ambitious club reach the top division of French football.
While Bradley’s managerial record and experience point to a position at a top European club, his nationality has dictated that he’s had to spend more time proving himself than other European managers.
“I am 100 percent convinced if he wasn’t American he would have got a big job somewhere,” believes his assistant Pierre Barrieu. “There is this U.S. tag on his back.”
Bradley is more circumspect of the situation. “What it amounts to is, this part of you - on the inside - wants to show people what you can do,” Bradley said. “You want to prove yourself. You want a chance.”
On Saturday, Bradley will have a chance to take matters into his own managerial hands. Le Havre sit in third place in Ligue 2, one position better than when he was first appointed. Normally, this would be sufficient for promotion to Ligue 1.
However, Ligue 1 reduced the relegation spots from three to two for this season in an attempt to give investors more security, lessening the threat of relegation. Therefore, only the top two finishers in Ligue 2 will be promoted.
This has certainly complicated matters for Le Havre and Bradley. Above them sit Dijon and Nancy, but, with five matches remaining in the season, Le Havre have every chance of making up the ground. This is especially true considering their match on April 16 will be against second placed Nancy.
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With Bradley at the helm, results have been stable. Before he arrived, Le Havre had played 14, won 7, drawn 2 and lost 5. With Bradley their record reads played 19, won 9, drawn 5 and lost 5. While their win percentage has dropped slightly, they’ve also become more difficult to beat while scoring slightly more often.
The key to Le Havre’s season will be to develop a consistency that bridges the gap between the sides.
“For me,” says Bradley, “I feel we’ve grown as a team, but I still feel that our football isn’t as consistent as it can be. That comes down to making sure that over the course of 90 minutes, that our concentration is right. That we do the simple things well over and over.”
While success at Le Havre could ultimately lead Bradley to bigger and better things, he’s not looking past the task at hand.
“I’ve never been afraid of rolling up my sleeves and trying to show people over and over the kind of work that I do and see what that means. You’re not worth much if you look like you’re only in a job trying to move on. You’re here and you’re excited about the opportunity.”
The work that Bradley’s accomplished in the United States, Egypt, Norway and now France is a testament to his work ethic, but the American trailblazer still has a lot of work left to do.
