An American in Egypt

Bob Bradley on being an American in charge of the Egyptian national team-

"As an American I saw on TV and read about the January revolution and I respect what the Egyptians have done for what they believe. And when you are a coach of a national team your team must be connected to the people," he said.

"Players must know when they wear the national team jersey that they are playing for millions of people who love the team of this country."

Bradley doesn't yet know the culture, the language, the league, or many of the players. And his first game as coach is an exhibition against five-time world champion Brazil next month before he begins the work of attempting to qualify Egypt for the World Cup for the first time since 1990.

He may not yet know his best midfield combination or how to shout instructions to his players in Arabic, but he has learned a little. The fish in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria is "so good," he said, and he already likes falafel sandwiches — an Egyptian favorite.

He said he's also looking forward to visiting the ancient cities of Luxor and Aswan down in the south now that he has settled into a hotel apartment in Cairo. His wife is set to join him this week.

"I try to listen and learn about everything, not only football and sports," he said, "and it's very exciting for me to be part of this life every day."

More than anything, he's learned that like the mighty pyramids that loom over his new home city, soccer dominates the sports landscape in Egypt in a way it doesn't come close to doing in the U.S.

"Regarding not qualifying to the World Cup since 1990, everywhere I go, everyone I meet and who talks with me speaks about the World Cup dream. So it's a big responsibility," he said.

"I'm learning every day. In my situation now I meet different people every day and I listen to them. The situation now is very different to when I took the role as coach of the United States. I was familiar with everything, the players and the league. Now when I'm here in Egypt I must be a good student and learn from the people around me."