Former U.S. national team and MLS head coach Bob Bradley was named the new manager at English Premier League club Swansea City on Monday, making the revered 58-year-old New Jersey native the first U.S. manager to lead a club in one of Europe's major leagues.
Words of support poured in on social media from American soccer circles after the news broke, including two Seattle Sounders players who suited up for Bradley with the USMNT years ago.
Forward Herculez Gomez was a somewhat surprising addition to Bradley’s 2010 World Cup roster after breaking through in Mexico during the months leading up to the USMNT’s World Cup camp. Gomez ultimately appeared in three of the USMNT’s four matches in South Africa, including the Round of 16 game against Ghana.
Sounders captain Brad Evans also offered his support for Bradley, who called on the then-Columbus Crew midfielder for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Evans appeared in three matches in the tournament and then appeared in a friendly against El Salvador in February 2010.
Other Sounders players who suited up for Bradley in the past include forward Clint Dempsey and defender Chad Marshall, while Sounders assistant Ante Razov played under Bradley with the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA and the USMNT at various times in his career. Razov and Bradley are both members of Chicago’s “Ring of Fire” Hall of Fame.
