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A FULL FRIDAY EDITION 

An interesting day to say the least. I got to catch up with Clint Dempsey, but first the news everyone is talking about (call this the Barometer for this week). I have to preface this with the fact that I feel extremely lucky to be down here in Bradenton. I can’t imagine a better place to take the pulse of American soccer on a day when news breaks like this. For the record, as if you don’t already know, the news is this: Bob Bradley will be the next Olympic Coach (U-23) and the interim head coach of the national team until May or June of next year when USSF hopes to name a permanent coach, which could be Bradley. It also could be one of several of Sunil Gulati’s final list, which was the only real explanation the media received during a conference call with the USSF president and his new hire about why this non-committal decision is happening now. Two unnamed coaches are still in the midst of European seasons and thus unable to accept the job, if offered, at the present time… accordingly to Gulati, who on more than one occasion during the hour-long conference call pleaded the fifth, or as he said, I’m not going to go into that any further.

These federation announcements always come with a grain of salt the size of Lot’s wife. Frankly, I detest them. The nuts and bolts of sports journalism is as frustrating as anything for me. These calls are a complete waste of time. You sit there listening, pretty much knowing they aren’t going to show their hand, allowing them the politically correct and overly safe answers that in my opinion only add fuel the fire. After speaking to plenty of brass and the man on the street, my conclusions are this:

I think Bob Bradley is a decent choice, if for no other reason, he has a tremendous track record of developing talent, something US Soccer is in dire need of. I’m trying to look on the bright side, which isn’t always the strongest part of my personality. Notice I said good not great. It’s hard for me to believe that any great candidate would accept an interim position. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t think of a single great coach in any sport that ever held an interim title. That’s just not the way it works. You give an assistant (ahem, Bradley has long been an assistant in the USSF system) an interim job.

He should of course have been named interim coach months ago if that was the way they were going to go, which you’d have to be crazy to think that was what they wanted. The fact that he was not, besides making USSF look bad, real bad, really bad (plenty of people today asked when Sunil could be voted off the island – he works on a four-year election cycle and hopefully will be out on the next go around) is because USSF wanted Klinsmann and didn’t get him. That might have been the only forthright thing Sunil admitted during the call. He admitted at some point that he thought Klinsmann was going to be the coach. The interesting thing here is that Sunil wouldn’t say that Klinsmann would not be the coach come next summer, 2008, or some later time.

Bradley, for his part, was nothing but gracious and ready to get to work. When asked, he confided that you can’t worry about conditions, you let the work speak for itself. “I’m really excited and honored,” he said, “and it means an extra amount to follow Bruce Arena.” I wish him the best of luck, but part of me feels bad for the guy. It’s not a good situation to be in, consolation prize Olympic job or not.

US Soccer made itself hard to love today. I thought they were on the Up and Up, but i was wrong. Gulati today officially took over Arena’s seat in my mind as the main obstacle for a progressive USSF. Jeff Carlisle seems to agree with that summation. Maybe I can finally be a Red Bull fan.

U-17 head coach John Hackworth, who has just been a wealth of knowledge to me these past few days had this to say on the decision:

“I’m very much like you. I only at this point know what I’ve heard. Right now I’m just excited that Bob is going to have this opportunity. I think the soccer community, the people in the know, especially in American soccer, are pretty happy about it. He is a guy that deserved this opportunity regardless. It went to a huge world-wide search, and obviously there are much bigger names out there, and now I think our soccer media and our soccer public are kind of wondering, why the shift from Juergen to now Bob named apparently interim. End of the day, I think Bob is going to do a great job. People are going to see what a great job he’ll do. For me, it’s clear that the US Soccer Federation wants Bob Bradley involved in the future of the National Team and that can only be good for the American players that are aspiring to be on that team as we approach qualifying in the next four years. I think coaches, particularly coaches like myself who are American, and I don’t think there are better coaches out there than us, are happy. I think there is a perception that since it’s not our game (that a foreign coach is better), but you’re talking about a person like Bob Bradley who has done everything. He has coached at every level in this country. There is nobody who has a better understanding. I personally have a lot of respect for a guy who has gone through that whole process. He is an excellent coach and an excellent teacher. He deals with his players form a managerial standpoint first class all the way. Players seem to have great respect for him, and that’s what you really want. So for me, I’m thrilled for him and I think its going to be an opportunity to look back and it may be a blessing in disguise. He has done the work and earned this right, so I’m happy for him. I do think personally that it’s great that we have an American coach. Bruce Arena was the most successful coach by far, and he was American. So why change now. I’m not questioning Sunil at all, and I think it’s a great thing that the media and soccer public has become as interested in this story. It’s pretty amazing. For me it just shows that our soccer society is increasing and the level is getting higher and higher and things become intensified. That is a signal that we moving on a very positive track as a soccer culture. And now you have all of these opinions whether from the media or the public. I happen to know US Soccer gets flooded with emails from people who are so passionate about it and they care. They have a vested interest in what happens to their national teams. And that is great. it really is. It means we are progressing as a soccer nation.”

I’ve quickly come to know Hackworth to be nothing but honest and forthright, a refreshing change in the world of competitive sports, but there will be the obvious cries here of the company man toeing the line. There’s no avoiding that. So what about another opinion? How about Clint Dempsey? Never one to let political correctness get in the way of his opinions, he came right out with it. Before expressing the utmost respect for Bradley, he told me, “It’s a huge blow for US Soccer.” What more do you need to hear? The US Soccer Player of Year sees it as trouble, why shouldn’t the rest of us?

On a happier note, it was another solid day in Bradenton. I was able to catch up with Deuce, who spoke frankly with me about his future, which will hopefully be with one of three Premiership teams: Portsmouth, Everton, or Fulham. I didn’t learn anything terribly groundbreaking - we’re all waiting, including Clint, to see where he ends up - but with a tremendous 2006 behind him, the future looks bright for our aggressive midfielder. I’ll take 11 Dempseys any day.

To cap off the night at the opening ceremony for the weekend, he broke out his goal-scoring dance, admitted to a superstition of kissing his shingaurds - he writes the names of loved-ones lost inside them - before every game, and when begged to do so by the club players, he dropped some freestyle rhymes. For a soccer player, he ain’t bad, and I’ve spent my fair share of time around guys who thought they could rap. If you happen to be in Nacogdoches tomorrow night, Clint’s performing some new material – “It’s just for fun. I don’t have any illusions,” he said – with XO, whom along with the deceased Big Hawk, aided Clint on the “Don’t Tread” track.

It was a nice change from thinking about this coaching fiasco, and Clint was no doubt the perfect guest for the weekend, given the inspiration he should be to all the club players who hope to follow in his footsteps. Though Clint played for both the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Texans clubs, he wasn’t part of the national team system until he was almost 20 and represents the overriding reality of youth soccer that was hammered into my brain more than anything else this week: kids develop at different times and ages, and if you keep at it, you never know when your break might come. That should give hope to both players and fans. I hope all the teenagers in the crowd were listening. If their standing ovation was any indication tonight, I think some of them just might have been.

I’m back to NYC on Saturday, so to keep up with the final days of the Friendly weekend, check out ussoccer.com and topdrawersoccer.com for the latest match and player updates.