Celtic’s firing of the Frenchman brings back memories for two US coaches who faced similar struggles
Bob Bradley has never seen Ted Lasso, the TV show set around an American college football coach who finds himself leading a soccer team in England.
“Everybody tells me that I should watch it but I have not,” Bradley said from his home in New Jersey, almost nine years on from his experience. “I lived that a little bit, so I’m not ready to watch it yet.”
Bradley led Swansea City in 2016, becoming the first American to manage a team in the Premier League. But his stint itself was hardly historic; lasting just 11 games and 85 days.
He was not lacking qualifications. Before landing in Swansea, Bradley led two national teams, including the US at the 2010 World Cup and Egypt; Chicago Fire, Metrostars and Chivas USA in MLS; Stabaek in Norway and Le Havre in France. But his American soccer résuméwas always a factor, as other coaches to follow him across the pond also learned.
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“You always have to prove yourself,” Bradley said. “And when you come from the outside, it is going to be even more the case.”
Tolerance for bad results was little, and abuse from fans – many of whom saw Americans as people with a fundamental cluelessness about the – was common. Chris Armas, a former assistant at Manchester United and Leeds United, agrees. “Nothing will ever come easy for Americans in that world,” he said.
A standout MLS midfielder, Armas coached in the league for eight years, including a run in the head role for New York Red Bulls. After he was fired by Toronto in late 2021, he was in no rush to take another job. His wife joked, “You’re not even going to entertain talking about another job until we’re putting up the Christmas tree next year.” Then the phone rang.
It was Ralf Rangnick, whom Armas had met during his time with Red Bulls. The German was in temporary charge of Manchester United after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal and was looking for an assistant.
“Ralf got right to it,” Armas said. “I told him I needed to speak with my wife and that I’d call him back in a few minutes. My son starts yelling at me, ‘What do you mean you are going to call him back? You didn’t just say yes?”
Armas and Rangnick didn’t take a day off during their six months at United. Armas says one of the most important moments of the job came on the first introduction to the squad, which at the time included Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
“They will form an opinion from that very first meeting,” Armas said. “Do they like you or do they not like you? Do I want to follow this person or not? … Every time you’re in front of the group you’re on trial – and rightly so. If they’re going to follow you, then you have to show that you are worthy to lead them.”
When Armas’ spell at Man United ended, he joined American compatriot Jesse Marsch at Leeds. Marsch began as an assistant for Bradley with the US and earned Coach of the Year honors in MLS before moving to Europe as an assistant in the Red Bull organization. He worked his way from Austria with RB Salzburg to the top job at Bundesliga club RB Leipzig to the Premier League with Leeds midway through the 2021-22 season.
After a year, with Leeds slipping toward relegation, Marsch was fired. Armas – just two weeks into the job – found himself having to take charge with his fellow assistants in the next match – a 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
“The stakes are higher with promotion and relegation,” said Armas of the differences between MLS and European leagues. “There is lots of money on the line and the intensity does seem higher. David Beckham, Robbie Keane, and Thomas Müller would all say there is something special going on in MLS but we are not where Europe is in that regard to the top, top, leagues.
“You see some managers are at a club in Europe for a very long time and they get the support and then others don’t. I have seen that support in MLS too but the noise can come quickly in Europe. The demands are very high.”
Wilfried Nancy is the latest coach to see how high those demands could be. The Frenchman spent 20 years in Canada climbing the coaching ladder, leading CF Montréal and guiding Columbus Crew to an MLS Cup and Leagues Cup before being hired midseason by Celtic.
But his tenure ended after 33 days and just eight matches in charge, with boardroom disarray reflecting uncharacteristically underwhelming performances on the pitch. The fine line between failure and success in European soccer compared with MLS was shown by the fact that Celtic bettered their opponents in xG in much of Nancy’s short reign – better finishing here and there, and he’d probably still be in charge.
“When you go in mid-season it is particularly challenging,” said Bradley, who did so at Le Havre and Swansea. “You can come in and try to implement your system immediately. … The other idea is to go and get the best out of things and figure out what is going to be the best for that group in the short term. That results in the short term are tricky and it is results in the short term that give you the platform for what you want to do. There is not a right or wrong.”
The business behind top level soccer in Europe – where there is generally less collaboration between coaches and front offices than in MLS – can also make an impact, sometimes unexpectedly. When Bradley was at Stabaek, the club accepted an offer from a Premier League team for a key midfielder on the final day of the transfer window and did not replace him. At Le Havre, the club sold the team’s best striker to a Premier League team for an offer that couldn’t be refused and again didn’t sign a replacement.
The most unforgiving factor in coaching abroad are the fine margins in games – something Bradley learned to his cost at Swansea City. He still remembers how his final days at the club played out. After beating Sunderland for eight points in eight games, he met with management and felt the club was going in the right direction.
“Then we had West Brom and Middlesbrough, and we lost both games. And by the time we got back for a home game against West Ham, I could feel it in the air.”
Swansea lost and Bradley was sacked the next day.
“I talked to [manager] Slaven Bilić after the West Ham game, which would be my last even though I didn’t know it yet, and he said, ‘You play some good football, but [the priority] is just survival,’” Bradley said. “He said there are a few teams who can play at a certain level again and again, but for everyone else – it is survival.’”
Marsch’s first job after his time in the Premier League was with Canada, who he will lead at this summer’s World Cup. Bradley and Armas both returned to MLS. Bradley won an MLS Cup with LAFC and led Toronto for two years before a short stint back at Stabaek. Armas led Colorado Rapids before he was fired last year and was appointed last week to lead NWSL’s Kansas City Current.
Will other MLS coaches make the leap to top clubs in Europe?
“It’s not always easy to have respect. We have not made the splash,” said Armas. “We have to earn that respect. A few of us have to get that opportunity, go and do it, and do well.”
Category: General Sports
