Recently run out of the Meadowlands by Alexi Lalas, Bob Bradley — the MLS’ all-time winningest coach — has been hired by Chivas USA as the club’s 3rd manager in little more than a year. From the LA Times’ Grahame L. Jones.
The surprise change, and the even more unexpected selection of an American to lead the team, signals a new direction for Chivas USA, which originally set out to be a mirror image of its parent club, Chivas de Guadalajara.
Drawing from a roster composed primarily of Mexican or Mexican American players, the team finished in last place in its first season with a league-worst 4-22-6 record, after which co-owner Antonio Cue promised to remake the squad.
Bradley is the second move in that direction, the first having been to trade Costa Rican international Douglas Sequeira to Real Salt Lake last week for American defender Brian Dunseth.
“This team is going to continue having a Mexican heart and a Mexican identity,” Cue said at the Home Depot Center. “At the same time, we want to have a team that is competitive. We are going to look at players from Mexico, from MLS and from other countries as well.
“The identity and philosophy of this club will continue to be Mexican, but ¦ we recognize that fans want the team to do well, to win games, and that it plays in a league that is in the United States.”
In a move that should reassure Bill Bavasi, Bradley has pledged to take Spanish lessons.