Le Havre names Bradley as new head coach

• by Ridge Mahoney  @ridgemax, Nov 10, 2015

The coaching odyssey of Bob Bradley continues.

On Tuesday French club Le Harve announced it had hired Bradley, a New Jersey native who coached the U.S. national team from 2006 to 2011. Bradley heads to France from Norwegian club Stabaek, which he guided last month to a third-place finish in the Tippaeligan with a record of 17-8-5 (W-L-T) and qualification for the Europa League.

“Becoming head coach of Le Havre, France's oldest football club, is a new challenge in my career,” Bradley said in a club release. 

“This is an ambitious project with objectives outlined by the club's leadership very much in line with my personal career aspirations. I am confident that together we can build upon this fine franchise and create a long-term, strong Ligue 1 team.”

The French season is nearing its midway point and Le Harve, which was founded as a soccer and rugby club in 1872, is fourth in Ligue 2. The club fired head coach Thierry Goudot in late September, and since then has reeled off wins to rise up the standings. It finished seventh in the 20-team division last year.

Bradley, 57, will take over the club immediately. It plays Saint Omer in the French Cup on Saturday.

A New Jersey native and Princeton graduate, Bradley coached at his alma mater and for U.S. Soccer as well as in MLS. He led Chicago to a league title and U.S. Open Cup in 1998 as an expansion team, then coached the MetroStars and Chivas USA. After the 2006 World Cup he took over from Bruce Arena as U.S. national team coach and held the job until being fired by U.S. Soccer in August, 2011.

A month later he took over the Egyptian national team and led it to the final round of 2014 World Cup qualifying, where it lost a two-game series to Ghana. He took over Stabaek in January, 2014 and in his first season achieved a record of 11-13-6 (W-L-T) that landed the club in ninth place.