Arena: U.S. Soccer didn't support Bradley enough

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CARSON, Calif. – Bruce Arena has criticized U.S. Soccer chiefs for failing to give head coach Bob Bradley adequate support despite the federation's four-year extension of Bradley's contract this week.

U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati and Bradley finally agreed to an extended deal on Monday, more than two months after the team's exit from the World Cup due to a round-of-16 defeat to Ghana. But the signing only served to bring a fresh wave of criticism from fans, many of whom wanted to see a foreign coach such as Juergen Klinsmann installed in place of Bradley.

Arena feels U.S. Soccer isn't supoorting Bradley enough .
(Anja Niedringhaus/AP)

Arena, the former national team boss who is now in charge of the Los Angeles Galaxy, believes the federation must accept its share of the blame for the often-vitriolic public antipathy aimed at Bradley.

"That criticism comes if you are not given the right support from top to bottom," Arena told Yahoo! Sports in his office at the Home Depot Center. "You need to support your guy and that comes from the top. When that support is not there it brings questions.

"Whether you like the decision or not, England said 'Fabio Capello is our guy' and didn't deviate from it."

After the World Cup, Bradley explored coaching opportunities in Europe while reports claimed Gulati had met with Klinsmann, the former Germany coach who was in the frame to replace Arena following the 2006 World Cup and has consistently been linked with the role.

Arena and Bradley are friends and worked together at the University of Virginia and in Major League Soccer with D.C. United. The Galaxy chief is frustrated with the level of criticism Bradley continues to suffer through and is full of admiration for the way Bradley handled things in South Africa.

"It was the kind of fortunate draw that we will never get again, but I still rate it as a good World Cup," Arena said. "And I will say until I am on my death bed, the USA should be coached by an American coach.

"Bob Bradley is the right guy. The worrying thing is that again I think we came close to throwing big money at a foreign coach and I think it would have been a mistake.

"You need an American coach," continued Arena, whose eight-year tenure as U.S. coach ended after a disappointing 2006 World Cup. "You save some money, a lot of money, and you get someone who understands the American way. This country, and soccer in this country, is different to anywhere else.

"Our players don't suddenly get better with a foreign coach. They don't suddenly become Superman. It is a bunch of crap to think otherwise."

Bradley's finest hour came during the Confederations Cup in 2009, when the U.S. beat European and now world champion Spain in the semifinals before narrowly losing to Brazil in the final. That raised expectations ahead of this summer's World Cup – which ended with mixed reviews.

Emerging as winners of Group C ahead of England was a fine result, but the defeat to Ghana in the first round of the knockout stage represented a lost opportunity.

In the weeks that followed, speculation was rife that Gulati may turn to Klinsmann, who led Germany to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup and has a home in Southern California. Yet while plenty of USA supporters crave a "big-name" coach, Arena warned against the perils of appointing a leader based on reputation rather than suitability.

"There are some very special players who don't know how to coach," Arena said. "I think we saw that pretty clearly this summer. It is a bunch of baloney to say you need to have a great ex-player as your coach.

"Second time around, Bob will be better. He will learn from it. He has the experience of going through the process. There are challenges in CONCACAF that are different to anywhere else. The travel, the field conditions, the officiating – it is second to none in terms of difficulty.

"Bob can put 11 players on the field as well as anyone and get the best out of them. I will tell you now: We are not winning the World Cup in 2014, whoever is in charge.

"People need to be realistic. The best thing [the critics] can do is shut up. A bunch of people get on the internet and start stirring things up and it snowballs. Just let him do his job."