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Princeton University Athletics
Bradley '80 Named First Head Coach of LAFC
July 31, 2017 | Men's Soccer
Bob Bradley '80 was named the first head coach of the LAFC, the incoming expansion club of the Major League Soccer (MLS).
It was nearly 20 years ago that Bradley got his start in the MLS when he was hired as head coach of then expansion team Chicago Fire in 1998. He earned coach of the year honors after leading the team to MLS and U.S. Open Cup titles in 1998, and won the Open Cup again in 2000. He left the Fire to take the head job with the MetroStars from 2003-05 before heading to Chivas USA in 2006.
At Princeton, he led the Tigers in scoring during his senior season of 1979, when the team advanced to the second round of the NCAAs. He began coaching the Tigers in 1984 and in the next 12 seasons built the team into an Ivy League and national powerhouse. Princeton won two Ivy titles and earned three NCAA Tournament bids from 1984-95 and advanced to the NCAA semifinals in 1993 for the first time in school history.
Bradley is the second Princeton alum coaching in the MLS, as he joins Jesse Marsch '96, a player he coached at Princeton and hired as an assistant while he was with the USMNT. Marsch was named the MLS Coach of the Year in 2015 in his first year with the New York Red Bulls.
It was nearly 20 years ago that Bradley got his start in the MLS when he was hired as head coach of then expansion team Chicago Fire in 1998. He earned coach of the year honors after leading the team to MLS and U.S. Open Cup titles in 1998, and won the Open Cup again in 2000. He left the Fire to take the head job with the MetroStars from 2003-05 before heading to Chivas USA in 2006.
He served as the head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team from 2007-2011. In his first FIFA World Cup, in 2010 in South Africa Bradley and the U.S. tied England (1-1) and Slovenia (202) and beat Algeria 1-0 to win Group C. The U.S. was eliminated in the round of 16, falling to Ghana 2-1. The team also won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and finished second in 2009.
Bradley served as head coach of his second national team, Egypt from 2011-13 as the team made a push for World Cup, but lost in a playoff series to Ghana.
At Princeton, he led the Tigers in scoring during his senior season of 1979, when the team advanced to the second round of the NCAAs. He began coaching the Tigers in 1984 and in the next 12 seasons built the team into an Ivy League and national powerhouse. Princeton won two Ivy titles and earned three NCAA Tournament bids from 1984-95 and advanced to the NCAA semifinals in 1993 for the first time in school history.
Bradley is the second Princeton alum coaching in the MLS, as he joins Jesse Marsch '96, a player he coached at Princeton and hired as an assistant while he was with the USMNT. Marsch was named the MLS Coach of the Year in 2015 in his first year with the New York Red Bulls.
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