Chivas USA hires Bradley as Coach

[SoccerPrime]

Originally Posted by ReAl's Gal

Hey, I am only human. In my 20's to top it off. And Dunny did play good soccer.

I was just kidding.
:dancing:
And after being in SLC and Sweden I am sure Brian is happy to be back in SoCal.

[BetterThanChivas]

What happened to Westerhof?

Bradley might actually make Chivas better! Ahh!!

[Scholesy]

Originally Posted by BumpyPitchBoy

What happened to Westerhof?

Bradley might actually make Chivas better! Ahh!!

I have to say I don't think it was so much about the quality of the coaches, it is about the organization. Chivas told the coaches who their players would be, they assigned them players that were'nt good enough because they underestimated the league. The coaches there never stood a chance, so I think that although they have somewhat learned their lesson (think of the names they brought in at the end of the season to try and rescue it) I still wonder if they really get 'it'. I don't know if they do, I wonder if they're a little too 'Romanov-esque' for MLS?

I'm not worried. I trust coach Ellinger and like what I am seeing (and hearing), next year will be a much better year.

[clarette]

Originally Posted by Scholesy

I still wonder if they really get 'it'. I don't know if they do, I wonder if they're a little too 'Romanov-esque' for MLS?

RASPUTIN!!!

This explains so much...

Love,
Prince Usupov

[AreliusIII]

Coaches Are Caught in Chivas USA Shuffle

November 23, 2005

There was a strange and possibly unique crossing of paths that occurred at the Home Depot Center on Monday afternoon. Chivas USA now has three coaches, past and present. And, for the first and perhaps last time, all three were on hand.

In the interview room below the stands, Bob Bradley, the Major League Soccer club's third and latest coach in little more than a year, was being introduced to the media.

His future is filled with challenges.

Outside, on a walkway overlooking the playing field, Thomas Rongen, the club's first coach, was chatting on a cell phone while puffing away at a cigarette.

His future is problematic, at least with Chivas USA, but other opportunities might soon beckon.

In an office adjoining the Chivas USA locker room, newly ousted Hans Westerhof was clearing out his desk, making arrangements for a flight to Guadalajara and brooding just a little over what might have been.

Given his credentials, his future looks as bright as ever, but it will probably be back in Europe, not in the United States or Mexico.

Oddly enough, it was Bradley who was in the serious mood. He was all business, a reflection, no doubt, of the immense task awaiting him as coach of a team that finished 4-22-6 in its inaugural season.

He might have been a key part of three MLS championship teams and two U.S Open Cup winners, but for Bradley this was uncharted territory.

Westerhof, however, was in a different mood.

The Dutchman was laughing, despite being fired earlier in the day by Antonio Cue, the Bel Air businessman who is officially referred to as Chivas USA's co-owner but is increasingly seen as the man who pulls the strings — rather than absentee co-owner Jorge Vergara in Guadalajara.

Other jobs will come along. Unemployment is not a problem for Westerhof. His only regret, he said, is that when job offers were dangled in front of him in the summer by "big clubs in Europe," he opted to stick with Chivas USA.

He even agreed after the season finale to stay aboard for another year and, as he put it, finish the job he and Rongen had started.

It was not to be.

With a chance to land the "winningest" coach in MLS history, Cue made a move for Bradley, who had been fired by the MetroStars on Oct. 5. Initially, Bradley was to come in as technical director before taking over from Westerhof in 2007.

Westerhof was not averse to that, and he and Bradley had talked about the team and the changes that need to be made. But then a contract disagreement arose between Westerhof and Cue.

"Hans is a man of great integrity and stuck to his guns and Antonio stuck to his guns," Rongen said.

The result? Exit Westerhof. Enter Bradley.

"Antonio is a good guy, a good friend, but, OK, for me it's over," Westerhof said Monday.

But what about Rongen? He had moved to a front-office position as director of football after being removed as coach 10 games into the season. Would he also be ousted?

"He has opportunities to go to some other places, so we'll be talking about that with him," Cue said, a comment that suggests Rongen might not last too much longer with Chivas USA.

Not that he would have any conflict with Bradley.

"Bob and I go back a long way in MLS," Rongen said. "We've coached against each other. We're peers. We respect each other. We know each other. I don't think the transition will be that hard."

But if U.S. Soccer comes along and — as it should — offers Rongen his old position as coach of the U.S. under-20 national team or, better yet, the under-23 national team that will be aiming for the Beijing Olympics, it will be difficult for Rongen to turn down.

He is a coach, first and foremost, and prefers being on the field to being in an office.

Westerhof, meanwhile, is off to Guadalajara to talk to Vergara and see where he stands there. If, as Cue said, he has been entirely removed from the Chivas organization, Westerhof will take it in stride — and probably with a pocketful of cash thanks to his "gentlemen's agreement" contract with Vergara.

"I'm a positive man," he said. "I have one luck, my memory is always selective. I remember always the good things and forget very quickly all the bad things. I think you have to do it in football because that's the way it is."

Bradley, now with his third MLS team after the MetroStars and the Chicago Fire, understands that. For the moment, however, all that concerns him is figuring out how to build a competitive team by the April 1 season opener.

During his news conference, Bradley said he had been to Estadio Jalisco in Mexico and seen how the Chivas de Guadalajara players carried themselves.

"There is a way the team plays, there's a mentality, there's a spirit on the field, there's an attitude," he said.

"You must play for Chivas so that the supporters can see that and be proud of that. That's what has been made clear to me and that's what we will try to build from here on out."

Meanwhile, there is one other thing the new coach has to learn: Spanish.

"I promise that I will be able to conduct press conferences in the future in some kind of New Jersey Spanish that hopefully people will understand," said Bradley, who is from Montclair, N.J.

Not that language skills take priority for the Home Depot Center's "other" tenant these days.

As Soccer America magazine commented Tuesday, Bradley "knows the language of victory if not that of Mexico."

After the 2005 season, victories will be all that matter for Chivas USA.

[Rover]

If cheetos truly let him coach, the team should improve significantly with Bradley in charge. If they insist on a certain style and tactical approach, they will continue to have problems.

Whatever. I'm more concerned with the moves we're making. At this point, I'm not particularly pleased.

[AreliusIII]

http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/exclusives/499993.html

[SoccerPrime]

Originally Posted by Rover

If cheetos truly let him coach, the team should improve significantly with Bradley in charge. If they insist on a certain style and tactical approach, they will continue to have problems.

Whatever. I'm more concerned with the moves we're making. At this point, I'm not particularly pleased.

What exactly don't you like Rover?

[prk166]

Am I the only one annoyed by the 3 coach thing? I mean, ya, technically it is true but that's including a interm coach. Someone by their very nature isn't supposed to be around.

[Jim Umber]

Well, but according to the article, he was supposed to be around for another year, at least. So he wasn't all that "interim". But what do we expect? They're desparate. They totally, and radically underestimated the level of play in MLS. Now they are repenting.

I think they should be greeted at every game next year with signs saying "Goodby Futbol, Hello Soccer".