Though he's an understated personality, Bob Bradley is not known for lacking confidence, and his most recent remarks in the US media offer a reminder of that.
Bradley was a guest on SiriusXM this week, and he underlined his belief in his abilities as a head coach. The former US national team boss and current Le Havre manager stated that not only has he helped players on his teams improve both on and off the field, but that he deserves to be considered alongside some of the best coaches in the sport.
Mauricio Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti: Bradley sees himself on par with all of them.
"When I have a chance to observe different managers, the ones that do good work, I mention Pochettino, Klopp, [Thomas] Tuchel that took over for Klopp at Dortmund, he’s a fantastic young manager," Bradley told SiriusXM. "We haven’t even talked about the Guardiolas and the Ancelottis. But I’ll tell you what, maybe I’m stupid, but I think I’m a manager in and around that level.
"I’m not saying I’m better than these guys -- I haven’t had those types of opportunities -- but I think people that have played for me have always felt that the experience in the team was different, that training was challenging, that there were a lot of things done to help them become better players and better people."
Bradley, 58, just missed out on helping Le Havre earn promotion to France's top division in his first year at the helm of the club. Le Havre ended up even on points with third-placed finishers Metz and had the exact same goal differential at plus-15, but came in fourth due to the next tiebreaker, which was goals scored. Metz netted 54 goals, while Le Havre found the back of the net 52 times.
Bradley, who has long wanted to coach in a top league in Europe, will be back in Ligue 2 next season. He is ready for the challenge, however, after having tasted success during the just-concluded campaign.
“I believe in my work, but I don’t go around every day complaining," said Bradley. "I roll up my sleeves and try to show people what I’m all about and see what happens.”
