Friday, June 18, 2010

"Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail"


That quote certainly applies to US national team manager Bob Bradley, as Kelly Whiteside of the USA Today reports.

Since arriving in South Africa, Bob awakes at 6 a.m. and usually is the first one at breakfast. The DVD player sits on the table next to his plate so he can watch while he eats. He does the same for lunch and dinner.

"He's very detailed, watches a lot of tape, very organized in the way he goes about everything. That's the way he coaches," says midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who played for Bradley 10 years ago with the Chicago Fire. "Every player knows what they're supposed to do."

Forward Herculez Gomez has only played for Bradley for about a month, but he received a scouting report in advance.

"Someone once told me Bob will be evaluating you the moment you get into the hotel and it's true," Gomez says. "He pays attention to everything."

Bradley has had six months to prepare for his first three World Cup opponents. After an exhibition against the Netherlands in March, he stayed in Europe, visiting seven countries to see his players and to study clubs with players from first-round foes.

"There's no stone left unturned," says midfielder Landon Donovan. "He's thought everything through a hundred times. He's very bright. He works really hard. And he cares. Those are four attributes that usually equal success."

No comments:

Post a Comment