Bradley doesn't need to be in a hurry. Within the next year many more MLS vacancies will open up. Just in Canada alone we'll probably need 3 new coaches. In the meantime, he may get that perfect European adventure.
Bradley wants a job in Europe. He isn't coming to MLS until the Spring (if nothing comes of note). Though after the WC, some NT jobs might be opening up.
It's interesting, this is exactly what I thought was the Catch-22 for an American coach looking to get a job in Europe--that the only offers you'd be likely to get, as the first American to head over there, would be far enough to the periphery of European football that you'd be unlikely to want to take them. But Bradley seems to covet the title of trailblazer (or just the diversity of personal experiences) enough to make what I think would otherwise be regarded as a very lateral move.
But Bradley wouldn't be a trailblazer, would he? Coaching in the first division in Norway is not a step up from what Berhalter did in Sweden.
Well.....You are right to some degree. It could be argued this is a step up simply due to Stabaek being in the 1st division and Hammarby were in the 2nd division during Berhalter's tenure. Part of the reason Gregg was canned was due to the fact Hammarby did not win promotion. But yes, I agree, mostly with the thought, that Gregg could / should be the actual trailblazer. Edit: If I wanted to get real technical regarding a trailblazer, Joe Enochs, managed German 3rd Liga side, VfL Osnabruck, the club where he has legenday status, in 2011 or 2012. He only managed the one season due to not having the required licensure, IIRC.
He is often forgotten, but Brent Goulet managed 3rd division Elversberg from April 12, 2004 to March 10, 2008 http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/gouletbrent/2008/
I thought it was somewhat telling (maybe I'm reaching) that Al Ahly got absolutely trounced by Monterrey in the CWC yesterday, only a few days after losing to Evergrande. It can't be a positive sign for Eyptian soccer when the top Egyptian team that holds a good number of the internationals, gets worked like a rental car.
Berhalter got his job through connections, plus wasn't he still taking coaching lessons. Bradley if he joins the club, probably their most high profile manager ever. Certaintly the most high profile manager in Norway.
I'm afraid he didn't. He took over too late in the season to do anything more than go down with more of a fight. He went back to coaching the youth team the following season, and is still there, IIRC.
Yes, he is working on his coaching badges. He had some sort of exception to coach them for half a season.
I think Stabæk is actually a lesser job than most MLS jobs but, I think because of BB's lack of European club coaching history that he may have to take a lesser job to "prove" that he's capable of managing a club team in Europe.
Often you have to start at the bottom. Hopefully 10 years from now, US managers won't have to continue to do the same.
The difference between Bradley and the other managers mentioned, of course, is that they all had playing experience in Europe. Bradley is carrying the flag for all potential managers that came up in the American game. So 'Trailblazer' is more than appropriate.
Really doubt that many people in Norway would know Bradley from let say Sampson. And pretty sure that there are guys likes OGS that have ten times higher profiles among locals.
Bradley certainly wouldn't be the first American manager in Europe, but I still think that a "trailblazer" tag is up for grabs. Berhalter -- fired after team underperformed relative to resources/expectations Enochs -- short-term caretaker Goulet -- managed in the German third division, which were regional at the time These guys didn't really blaze a trail for others. In the end, they just wandered around in the forest a bit.
Certainly Solkjear would be the big name there (for how long who knows). Bradley would be a big name for the Tipp through. Here's to a new team to pull for in 2014
And if you want to get really technical, Felix Magath was the son of a US serviceman, and therefore was eligible for a US passport (though I don't know if he ever got one). He began coaching in 1995: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Magath
Magath is the ultimate dick wad and should not be called anything but such and that includes: pioneer, trailblazer, forerunner, pathfinder, or leader!
True, but was he an American? Did he ever get a passport? If so, he's the first American to coach in Europe, plain and simple.