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Why Bob Bradley’s Appointment at Swansea Could Open the Door for US Coaches
- Updated: October 4, 2016
When Bob Bradley is presented to the media for the first time as Swansea City’s new manager, a silent sense of satisfaction may spread across the American’s face as he takes his seat. For that seat is one he has craved for quite some time. The Premier League is where he has long wanted to be, and he is finally there.
The 58-year-old’s career has built gradually over time to this point, with Bradley announced as Franceso Guidolin’s replacement on Monday. Overlooked for more than one Premier League vacancy over the past few years, the American has a platform on which to truly prove himself.
There is an extra dimension to Bradley’s appointment at the Liberty Stadium, though. He has become the first American manager in the history of the Premier League, carrying on his shoulders the footballing reputation of an entire nation. That might seem a somewhat hyperbolic claim, but there is a wider significance to Swansea’s hiring of Bradley.
Of course, the pragmatic among us wouldn’t write off an entire country on the basis of just one coach, but football excels in the craft of generalisation. Look at how so many are opposed to the possibility of a foreign England manager after the failure of Fabio Capello, implying that every foreign coach would fail in charge of the national team because one did. The same theory could be applied to Bradley and the American game should things go badly for him in south Wales.
Bradley isn’t alone as the vanguard of the USA’s current coaching contingent, though, with Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner reported, per Daniel Taylor of the Guardian, to be at the top of Aston Villa’s wish list to replace Roberto Di Matteo. It has been said before that American coaches don’t travel well, but that stereotype is now being challenged.
But why have American coaches failed to make an impression in English football until now? Consider that the USA is the 22nd country to boast a Premier League manager, and it would appear the country has punched well below its weight when it comes to contributing touchline figures over the years. Why is that? …
