Bob Bradley looks at the current state of U.S. soccer

Bob Bradley coached DaMarcus Beasley and the U.S. national team to a 12-5-1 record in '07, his first full year on the job. John Biever/SI

By Mike Woitalla, Special to SI.com, Soccer America

Bob Bradley looks back on his first year at the helm of the U.S. national team, the challenges going into World Cup 2010 qualifying, and the state of the U.S. game in general.

Soccer America: What did you come away with after your first year in charge of the U.S. national team?

Bradley: There's more of a comfort level. There's the experience of dealing with clubs in Europe and trying to find the right balance with keeping track of all the players. The camps were pretty positive. We try to challenge the key players who have been around, who have been in World Cups, to take bigger roles. And we try to test young players who we think are capable and get them experience and try to lay a foundation for the future.

Soccer America: What was the highlight of your first year?

Bradley: Winning the Gold Cup was exciting. The environment at Soldier Field [in the 2-1 win over Mexico before 60,000 fans] was terrific and taking the title was a goal. We were defending champs. That was a tournament where we had an opportunity to bring what we thought was our strongest group together.

The Copa América [three losses in Venezuela] was a great experience with a different group of players. I think the year finished in challenging way. We had two games in Europe against Sweden [a 1-0 loss] and Switzerland [a 1-0 win]. We played Brazil [a 4-2 loss] in Chicago. And we finished with a great opportunity to play in South Africa [a 1-0 win].

Soccer America: The first stage of World Cup qualifying starts in June, with a home-and-away series against Dominica or Barbados. How do you prepare for that?

Bradley: January starts with a camp that is MLS-based. It will include some Scandinavian-based players because they're off. That camp leads to a game, which is Jan. 19 against Sweden. Then we let players go for a few days, bring them back, and when we play Mexico on Feb. 6. It's a FIFA date, but obviously the players from Europe travel after the weekend games. That game probably leans more toward MLS players because of the challenge of bringing players in from Europe for a single game.

Soccer America: Will you have enough time to work with both MLS players and foreign-based players leading into qualifying?

Bradley: That is a big part of the challenge. All of the foreign-based players have shown a tremendous commitment to the national team. But it's very important that our players in Europe are playing first-team soccer. They want to come in, but there are games when their position with their teams is such that they also need to be there. That's part of the discussion we have with the clubs.

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