It was only 10 days ago that Michael Bradley coached MLS Next Pro side New York Red Bulls II to a championship after taking the helm of the Red Bulls development team in the middle of the season.
Soon enough, Bradley, a U.S. Men’s National Team great, could be taking charge of the first team.
One of the first tasks Julian de Guzman — the newly installed Red Bulls head of sport — must address is finding a new head coach, and Bradley is among the candidates being considered, he told The Athletic on Tuesday.
“Absolutely, he deserves to be,” de Guzman told the outlet, indicating Bradley was in the mix for the job. “He is somebody who has a very bright future as a wonderful coach in the long run. He’s definitely somebody we’re looking at.”
The Red Bulls parted ways with head coach Sandro Schwarz following the season after the club failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
The decision came a year after Schwarz led the Red Bulls to an MLS Cup Final appearance against the LA Galaxy.
De Guzman told The Athletic that it wasn’t just the fact that Bradley helped coach the second team to an MLS Next Pro Cup title that caught the head of sport’s attention.
“I’m very impressed by what he’s done. … Beyond winning MLS Next Pro itself, it’s his [playing] style,” de Guzman told the outlet. “It’s attractive for players, for fans. You can see how calm he is, how he delivers his message to the players. I must say it’s refreshing.”
Bradley was hired by the Red Bulls in June, and it marked the first head coaching position he’s held.
He previously coached under his father, former USMNT coach Bob Bradley, in Norway and had a brief stint helping Canadian National Team Coach Jesse Marsch.
In an exclusive conversation with The Post, Bradley called the return to New Jersey to begin his stateside coaching career “special.”
The inclusion of Bradley shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise after de Guzman heaped praise on Red Bulls II’s style of play during his introductory press conference late last month.
The new head of sport pointed to Red Bulls II as the blueprint for what he had hoped to see for the first team now that he was in charge, noting a desire to see a “high intensity, energetic team” that plays “fun football.”
