Bob Bradley’s appointment by Swansea as the first American manager in the English Premier League has been greeted with jubilation by the U.S soccer community but the coach himself faces a tricky task in stabilizing a club that is in danger of decline.
The excitement that has greeted Bradley’s new job reflects a sense of self-validation for an American soccer community that appears to crave respect from British soccer. It also gives Americans watching the Premier League on weekend mornings a closer sense of involvement.
There is a sense, certainly in the U.S., that Bradley deserves this opportunity after his decades of work in the game during which he has traveled the world, and he has certainly made no secret of his desire to test himself at the highest level.