What began as a three-sentence social media message on Saturday afternoon has grown into an international story that, according to several sources, could not be more false.
Former United States national coach Bob Bradley will not be the first head coach of Major League Soccer expansion team San Diego FC.
Tom Penn, the club’s CEO who hired Bradley when he founded LAFC in 2018, has stated that the next item on his list is finding a head coach. In a Spanish-language X (previously Twitter) post, Gustavo Mendoza of Fox Deportes stated that SDFC has already hired Bob Bradley as their head coach, rather than Miguel Herrera or Hugo Sanchez.
By Sunday afternoon, multiple soccer blogs had published the unsubstantiated news, with some claiming it was a done deal and Bradley would be on the sidelines for the club’s maiden game in February.
This is not true, according to the sources.
The connection to Penn makes obvious. Nothing else does, though.
Bradley is 66 years old and nearing the end of a career marked by uneven success. He won the MLS Cup with the Chicago Fire in 2000, but has not had the same level of success in his subsequent four MLS stints, the most recent being Toronto FC. He is currently in his second season at Stabaek, which has been relegated to Norway’s second division and is seventh in the league.
Penn has also stated that he wants a coach who is willing to adapt the Right to Dream academy’s distinctive style of play rather than conforming a team to a coach’s preferred system, and Bradley appears to be the polar opposite of that — a veteran with a defined tactical approach.
Another potential factor: SDFC’s top player, Mexican winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, was unveiled earlier this month, and several important front office hires have Mexican ties.
An SDFC official stated that the hunt for a head coach is ongoing, but provided no other information.
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