Bob Bradley interview

Posted 5 days ago

You first came across the Egypt side when you were coach of the USA team at the 2009 Confederations Cup. What were your first impressions?
When we were getting ready for Egypt we knew we had to win 3-0 and Italy needed to lose 3-0 against Brazil [to qualify for the semi-finals]. We won, Italy lost, and we advanced to the semis to beat Spain. But I had a good sense of the Egyptian team through Zaki [Abdel-Fattah, the former USA goalkeeping coach]. I had met [then Egypt coach] Hassan Shehata. I knew they had a group of players that had been the nucleus that won the [African] Nations Cup in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and that Hassan Shehata was a good man. The way they thought of it in Egypt, this was their golden generation. I ended up coming here, speaking to the people. The bottom line is you’re now trying to size up the situation from a football perspective, building a new team. The dream is the World Cup in 2014, but obviously there’s a lot more to it.
When you arrived in Egypt the country was in the throws of revolution. How did you see it, as an outsider?
Last year, when I was coaching the US, we were supposed to play a friendly in Cairo on February 9. And then weeks before that we are watching the images everyone else was watching – Tahrir Square. The game was cancelled. Being around Zaki, I’d ask him what happened, read different accounts. But when you come here you have a chance to see for yourself what’s going on in the country. When I took the job it coincided with some of the protests that turned violent. I’m one that asks questions. Who goes to Tahrir Square?
Is there a real agenda? Are there people there planted by others to create problems? You start to recognise the different levels of each situation. You also get a real sense of how football is part of all this [the revolution]. When you come to coach Egypt after the revolution, after all these years of [Egyptian president Hosni] Mubarak, you hear from different people about how the successful teams were seen as Mubarak’s teams. When I got here I saw a number of matches in the league where people would set off fireworks. Some were played behind closed doors, with no fans, as this was the response by the FA. I started to read more and more. Clearly, the football and politics, in different ways, are totally connected.
How did you deal with the residual effects of the regime and the perceived closeness of the national team, some of its players and its coach, to Mubarak?
It would be inaccurate to say we have done that already. That is a big part of the job. All the skills you have tried to hone over the years, this is a test of all of them. We’ve not yet pulled it all together. When I first arrived the league started late because of the revolution. We only had six games. The Olympic qualifying competition was due to take place in Egypt but that got cancelled. You watch six rounds, you get your group together, play Brazil [in a friendly], and then they stopped the league for 40 days. And there was the Port Said tragedy.
All of these different events had an impact on Egypt and the football community. The president of the Egyptian FA and the board resigned. Our match [an African Nations Cup qualifier against Central African Republic] was postponed. After the revolution there’s still a lot of people who have hope for the future and, in some ways, with the national team everyone has a dream for the World Cup. So that responsibility, of what it means when we step on the field, is making sure that we’re representing what these people are all about. We are trying to put together the right group of players who have the commitment to get through to the World Cup finals.
Where were you when you heard of what happened in Port Said?
The league games were rolling around and the staff were trying to organise a camp with friendlies before the game against Central African Republic. That day, Al Masry and Al Ahly played in Port Said. It’s a couple of hours away, so we would watch the first half on TV and then watch Ismaily v Zamalek in the Cairo Stadium. Some people told us that there might be some trouble at the game, we heard the fans didn’t get on.
We watched the first half on TV. It was a competitive game. Before we left there were a few things that were worrying, such as fans running on the field, fireworks. But you still had a feeling it was typical fan stuff. We went to the Cairo Stadium and there’s a TV in the lobby area. We saw the third Masry goal, the whistle, the fans running on the field and the Ahly players sprinting off the field. At half-time we got reports that people had died. Now the second half [in Cairo] wasn’t going to be played. We got out quickly.
There were some fires set by supporters inside Cairo Stadium but we’d left. We get back to our apartment and watch it on television. By the time we went into the federation it was clear that this was not a typical case of fan violence. There was one incredible question and answer with the captain of Masry. He didn’t play but he talked about what they saw. He said something to the [Masry] supporters and the supporters didn’t recognise him and he’s thinking “these aren’t our supporters”.
When we left the office we heard there was going to be a rally in Sphinx Square and we thought, as a staff, and Lindsay [Bradley’s wife], we would go to Sphinx Square as a sign of respect for those who lost their lives and a sign of respect for the families. In a moment like that I think it’s important you are with the people. A lot was written about us being there, but it was a simple sign of respect and a simple sign of being with football people knowing this was a senseless tragedy in a country that is trying so hard to move on and a country we have grown to love.
People get an isolated picture of Egypt, that it’s not safe. They don’t have a good picture of what life is like here, how good the people are, how people are working hard trying to make money and take care of their families. At a time when people think it’s not safe, people are appreciative that I take my wife and daughters out for dinner, living not in a compound but in Cairo. We walk to the market, meet all sorts of people.

Bradley gives instructions to his players in the November 2011 friendly international against Brazil.

You have no security?
It’s quiet enough, there’s no getting around it. If you are the coach of Egypt there’s a high recognition factor. But we can still find places for privacy. People want to take photos, but we can sit and enjoy a meal. You learn the passion for football.
How have you dealt with the Al Ahly players who experienced the tragedy and have since said they would retire? One report said that, in the dressing room, Mohamed Aboutrika held a fan who died in his arms…
You know the story? Here’s a young fan in a locker room. The fan says to Aboutrika: “Captain, I always wanted to meet you.”
First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with the young people who lost their lives. Young people who, in a group [as the ultras], played a big role in the revolution. Young people who, on the simplest level, loved football. In a country that is so passionate for football to think young, talented, intelligent people lose their lives at a football match blows you away. You think of the people who were in the stadium that night.
That level of understanding and respect for Al Ahly, which is an incredible club. We went to their memorial and it makes you feel what this club is all about. On one side were the club officials and on the other side the fans were mourning. Ahly has always been an important club and will always be an important club for the national team. But at this moment those players need time. Right now we have left them, and little by little we will find the right time and the right way.
You talk about showing the world a different side of Egypt. Do you think your actions show Egypt a different side of America?
I’ve said before there’s a big difference between what Egyptians think of American policy and what they think of Americans. When we came here we immediately felt that welcoming side of people who were excited that we would want to come here. There is no doubt that in order to do the job well you have to live here. Egypt has had a few foreign coaches and none of them has done well.
I felt strongly that to have a chance here you had to get a better feel about how people here live and think. And even the difference between living on the outskirts and living in Cairo is significant. Meeting people, talking to people, getting a sense of what their lives are like every day. From the beginning our idea was that when you come here it’s a responsibility. Everyone you talk to says “we must go to the World Cup”.
When you’re a leader in any way and there’s a tragedy, the way you react, the way you respond, this is important. [We are] trying in a small way to help the Egyptian people as a whole. In some small way, when we are with the national team we set an example.
Were you aware how significant football’s role was when it came to the January revolution that ousted Mubarak?
I knew that with football and fans there was a connection with the revolution. But when you come and live here you see it in a clearer, deeper way. Moving forward we are building a team that does have the right connection so that people can support us and we represent them. This has to be some part of what we try to do.
Has the Port Said tragedy helped to refocus and reignite the revolution against military rule?
There are so many levels to this question. It’s only level one. A lot of the protests that have taken place since the revolution were about people saying Mubarak is not here but the military is part of the old regime. And now they are protesting because they want control to civilian rule to move faster. And then something happens in Port Said and now there are reports on the news that the gates have been welded shut. One of the first things you see is the police doing nothing.
When I ask opinions of people, they say the military in their own way is trying to say “fine; you want us out so this is what it is going to be like without us”. You read about that and see what took place and read some of the inside reports of Masry players not recognising Masry fans. There have been a number of protests that have turned violent since the revolution and if Port Said, like those, is part of bringing about this change then I think it will prove even more that this was not just fan violence. This was much more complicated.
I’ve been here six months. I don’t want to sound like I am an expert on the political side of everything here. I ask a lot of questions, I read the things that are intelligent. The flip side is I don’t think you can come here and be the national team coach and be oblivious to all this. You can’t have your head in the sand when you have players who are so deeply involved in all these things.

Messi still has some way to go before he can be considered the greatest

Posted 6 days ago

As the plaudits shower on the gifted Lionel Messi, why do I keep thinking about Ron Clarke, a largely forgotten Australian athlete? A middle distance runner who, between Olympiads, set record after record, but who, when it came to the Olympic Games themselves, never came close to a gold medal? Anticlimax after four years anti-climax.
So where is the analogy with Messi, author of those five glorious goals? A somewhat distant one, I admit. Simply that for all his brilliance with Barcelona he made scant impact for Argentina in the 2010 World Cup.
Decent enough performances early on, no impact in the crushing defeat by Germany. Afterwards he insisted he was satisfied with his own performance and he didn’t as some people did, put any blame on Maradona as manager.
The fact seemed to be that where he has such a free rein at Barcelona, popping up so incisively in attack wherever he wants to, under Maradona he was confined to being a more lateral position. Was there at the bottom of this a competitive urge in Maradona, whether he realised it or not, unwilling to see his own World Cup thunder stolen?
For how could it be? Those two matchless solos at the Azteca in 1986 against England and Belgium. His essential contribution in Argentina’s path to the Final four years later although, for much of the time, he was virtually playing on one leg.
But if the World Cup like the Olympics is the ultimate criterion, how can the best of the best be anybody but Pele?
I was privileged enough to see him excel in two such tournaments, the first in Sweden in 1958 at the astonishingly early age of 17, when, after a hat trick against France in the semi final, he scored two spectacular goals against Sweden in the Final in Stockholm; the first coolly and calmly juggling the ball in a penalty box crowded with hefty Swedes before driving his right footed shot home, the second with a glorious header, soaring above the defence, though he stood no better than 5 foot 8.
With all due deference to the splendid Messi, when did he ever head a goal like that; or like the one Pele headed to put Brazil ahead against Italy in the World Cup final of 1970 in Mexico City? Not to mention the two jewelled diagonal passes he gave later in the game to the right, enabling Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto to score.
Pele for me was simply incomparable and were I to choose a runner up, it would be Alfredo Di Stefano, the third Argentine on the short role of honour. But then, Di Stefano never played in the World Cup finals.
As a youngster he left his native Buenos Aires to make money for a while in Bogota, Colombia who were then out of FIFA and could pay as they pleased; nor not play at all when it came to transfer fees. Then as we know, Di Stefano, when Colombia came back into the fold, took off for Spain and triumphantly, autocratically, ubiquitously led Real Madrid to five consecutive triumphs in the first European Cups, here there and dazzlingly everywhere a miracle of pace, stamina and versatility.

*******************

Forgive me if I don’t join the ecstatic chorus of praise for the recent documentary QPR: the four-year plan.
What right have I to pass judgement on a documentary? Well, I did conceive and write the BBC TV programme European Centre Forward, mostly shot in Turin, its protagonist the England ex-centre forward Gerry Hitchens, which won the silver bear award at the 1963 Berlin film festival. And in 1966 I wrote the commentary for the official World Cup film, Goal!
It was typical of the blinkered arrogance of Flavio Briatore, the tycoon who had had his troubles in Italy, and later would be drummed out of Formula 1 for deliberately instigating a crash. He was revealed in all his vanity; the fly on the wall technique certainly delivered remarkable moments, but where was the context?
Why did we have just one evanescent sight of Bernie Ecclestone, who was supposed to have put some of his immense wealth into the club? Why did we learn nothing of the billionaire steel mogul Mittal who was also supposed to be bank rolling the club; though we did see his conscientious relative who tried at least to bring an element of sanity into the proceedings.
Why was it not emphasised that Gianni Paladini, who acted as a kind of chorus to Briatore as Chairman, had no money in the club and hence no real power? It might even have been mentioned, though it had happened before the documentary was made, that he’d been threatened with a gun before a match by people who demanded he signed himself out of office? A case which came to criminal court but bewilderingly resulted in no convictions.
Why were we not told that Paulo Sousa, so shabbily turned out of office simply because he said he’d not known that one of his stars had been moved out, was a famous Portuguese international in his day? A fly on the wall can see only so much, despite its compound eyes and I wish we had been told more.

A rare blank from Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo saw his lead at the head of the ESM Golden Shoe rankings reduced to two points as his close rival, Lionel Messi, scored another of his trademark wonder goals in Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Sevilla.
Ronaldo stays top having  scored 32 goals this season, with Messi now just a goal behind. Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie, who enjoyed a week off, remains third with 26 goals.
Elsewhere in the top ten, there were goals for Bayern Munich’s Mario Gomez, Schalke’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and in Italy, both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Di Natale were on the scoresheet for Milan and Udinese respectively. The prolific Di Natale is in with a good chance of becoming Serie A’s leading scorer for the third successive season – a feat last achieved by Michel Platini between 1983-85.
POS PLAYER TEAM GOALS FACTOR PTS
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 32 x 2 = 64
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 31 x 2 = 62
3. Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 26 x 2 = 52
4. Aleksandrs Cekulajevs (Trans Narva) 46 x 1 = 46
5. Burak Yilmaz (Trabzonspor) 30 x 1.5 = 45
6. Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich) 22 x 2 = 44
7. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04) 20 x 2 = 40
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Milan) 20 x 2 = 40
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) 20 x 2 = 40
10. Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) 19 x 2 = 38
11. Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow) 25 x 1.5 = 37.5
12. Edinson Cavani (Napoli) 18 x 2 = 36
13. Radamel Falcao (Atlético Madrid) 17 x 2 = 34
Olivier Giroud (Montpellier) 17 x 2 = 34
Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid) 17 x 2 = 34
16. Bas Dost (Heerenveen) 22 x 1.5 = 33
17. Sergio ‘Kun’ Agüero (Manchester City) 16 x 2 = 32
Demba Ba (Newcastle United) 16 x 2 = 32
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund) 16 x 2 = 32
Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen) 16 x 2 = 32
Lukas Podolski (Cologne) 16 x 2 = 32
22. Jérémy Perbet (Mons) 21 x 1.5 = 31,5
23. Gérman Gustavo Denis (Atalanta) 15 x 2 = 30
Luuk de Jong (FC Twente) 20 x 1.5 = 30
David Lafata (FK Jablonec) 20 x 1.5 = 30
Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit St.Petersburg) 20 x 1.5 = 30
Sanharib Malki (Roda JC Kerkrade) 20 x 1.5 = 30
Roberto Soldado (Valencia) 15 x 2 = 30
29. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) 14 x 2 = 28
Martin Harnik (Stuttgart) 14 x 2 = 28
Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao) 14 x 2 = 28
Diego Milito (Internazionale) 14 x 2 = 28
Rodrigo Palacio (Genoa) 14 x 2 = 28
Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach) 14 x 2 = 28
35. Óscar Cardozo (Benfica) 18 x 1.5 = 27
John Guidetti (Feyenoord) 18 x 1.5 = 27
Rodrigo José ‘Lima’ dos Santos (Braga) 18 x 1.5 = 27
Dries Mertens (PSV Eindhoven) 18 x 1.5 = 27
Artjoms Rudnevs (Lech Poznán) 18 x 1.5 = 27
40. Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) 13 x 2 = 26
‘Michu’ Miguel Pérez Cuesta (Rayo Vallecano) 13 x 2 = 26
Anderson Luiz de Carvalho ‘Nenê‘ (Paris Saint-Germain) 13 x 2 = 26
Aiyegbeni Yakubu (Blackburn Rovers) 13 x 2 = 26

‘Insult us at your own peril’.

What you can deduce from that statement, inscribed into the walls of Deportivo La Coruña’s wind blasted Riazor, is that Depor fans take their team seriously, very seriously. This after all, is the club that had a group of its own fans tear seats out the aforementioned stadium, in protest at the removal of terracing and increase in VIP boxes. Their club bowing down to the nature of footballs modernisation didn’t, no pun intended, sit well.
It was a surprise then, that they didn’t tear the city of A Coruña apart on Sunday, May 21^st 2011. The years of over expenditure, dire squad planning, and stagnation, finally reached the worst conclusion. Relegation.
Maybe it was because they had expected what was to come, if they hadn’t, the hardened Gallego faces on that night, eerily ghost-like and flush with tears, really drove home the realisation. More so, was the sight of Juan Carlos Valerón, holding his hands in prayer asking for forgiveness, before El Mago himself could no longer hold back the lump in his throat. He, whom only years previous had tore apart in slow-motion teams the length and breadth of Europe, was now reduced to but a shell of a man in front of his adoring public. Born in Gran Canaria maybe, to them he is as Galician as the mountains that leer over the region. It was apt then he found solace in their voices, as “DEPOOOOR, DEPOOOOOOR, DEPOOOOR” swirled around Riazor.
Relegation was viewed with ambivalence. One the one hand, it was a disaster from which the club wouldn’t recover. On the other, it was a blessing from which Depor would analyse their failings, and find a new model which would allow them to emerge revitalised from this dark period. They decided to pursue the latter course, and the appointment of José Luis Oltra, replacing the departed Miguel Angel Lotina, was the first significant step in the recovery process. Lotina’s strategy had made Depor a running joke, backs to the wall home or away, and 31 goals scored in an entire season.
Oltra knew what he was taking on at Depor, and at first, the signs weren’t promising. Life in Segunda following relegation is a difficult one. Acclimatising yourself with the surroundings, with things such as trips to sunken Spanish towns – the list goes on. All the while however, Oltra preached patience for the mould to set. A defeat to Hércules at Riazor left the home support disappointed, and brought home how complex the new era would be. The Alicante-based side had been relegated with Depor too, but had previous experience of Segunda life and knew all the tricks. Oltra irked many with his toggling of formations (4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 and 3-5-2 were all used in one game) and claims he was mishandling players in terms of fitness came to light. A crushing 4-0 defeat to Alcorcon looked to have the Valencian on the brink at one point.
“Nos vivmos 24 horas polo Depor, vos nin 90 minutos” (We live 24 hours for Depor, you not even 90 minutes) - Riazor Blues banner.
The message was significant in that, incredibly, since it was held aloft, Depor have lost only two games. You could say the players quite literally got the message. They then ended the year strong, solidifying themselves in the top two positions, but as importantly, a morale boosting victory over Celta de Vigo in the first Galician Derby since 2007. Lassad’s late winner saw Riazor explode, and you felt those darkened mountains were ready to crumble.
By the turn of the year, Oltra’s ideas were taken really beginning to take root. The club embarked on a nine-game winning streak, triumphing in comfortable fashion at times, but also grinding out results – something they had previously struggled to do. The components were all clicking into place. The defence, commanded by Diego Colotto and veteran Manuel Pablo, looked watertight, while in midfield they had balance and were able to out-think and combat opponents. Most of all, their attacking arsenal has been formidable and especially so in wide areas. The Portuguese duo, Diego Solamo and Bruno Gama, have been sparking at different periods throughout. The former, is direct, skilful and has an abundance of flair Riazor hasn’t seen in some time. Gama meanwhile, is a powerhouse from the wide areas, at times seemingly having the ball glued to his boot. Andrés Guardado too, the Mexican, previously besieged by injury has been turned from explosive winger into tenacious playmaker. He may have lost some of that pace, but under this new lease of life he can carve defences open in a different manner.

The whole club are pulling in the same direction, and it has been awhile since you could claim such a thing. Although critical, the fans’ support never wavered. 25,000 strong socios are now with the club, and they boast better attendance averages than half the Primera. Not bad, taking into account the glory years are gone, the money too (debt recently stood at under €100m for first time in under a decade), and A Coruña has just under 250,000 inhabitants. Most incredibly of all, average attendance since relegation has increased by over 3,000. Not just at home either are their colours shown; a recent trip to Guadalajara (ESP) saw 2,000 blues travel – strong figures for notoriously travel shy Spanish fans.
‘Depor es Primera’ (Depor is Primera) is now the song of choice in the stands, and they’re deadly serious

Foreign football shirts are universal across the African continent. Walking through Abidjan or Yamoussoukro, the Chelsea blue with Drogba 11 on the back can be seen in every direction. Similarly, Essien 5, in the same azure hue, abounds in Accra, whilst the name Eto’o, and Barcelona colours, are ubiquitous in Yaoundé – even since the Cameroon striker’s departure to Russia. Without a global Egyptian superstar, the same European presence is lacking in Egypt. With Mohammed Aboutrika, however, this hasn’t mattered at all.
Exploring Egypt, one couldn’t escape Aboutrika 22, emblazoned atop the red of Al Ahly, or the Egyptian national team. The man was everywhere, and Egyptians wouldn’t let you forget it.
The country has changed since then. The devastating violence that followed the Ahly/Al Masry bout in Port Said last month was the latest episode in a turbulent 18 months for the nation, which emerged from the brutality of Tahrir Square into the sunlight of the Arab Spring as a fractured and splintered society.
Following the match, and a reported 74 deaths, Aboutreika, along with two other teammates – the so called Bermuda Triangle of Emad Moeteab and Mohammed Barakat, called time on their careers. One of football’s great political thinkers, reduced to retirement by the sheer horror and worthlessness of political violence.
Despite being named BBC African Footballer of the Year in 2008, Aboutrika has a fairly limited profile in Europe, mainly through his own choosing. Ahly have received offers for his services from various clubs, but the player has frequently refused moves on principle, citing the fact that the Cairene club have made him who he is.
This sums him up; a figure that is a beacon for all that is good about the modern Egyptian nation. Anyone asked would gush about Aboutrika’s qualities, both on and off the pitch. Even rival Zamalek fans, a team who has often been thwarted by a well timed Aboutrika goal, would shuffle uneasily, and then begrudgingly admit, that yes, he is most definitely a very special player, and most definitely a very special guy.
Why a special player? Well, the facts are hard to argue with. With Ahly, the club named ‘African Club of the Century’, Aboutrika has won 7 consecutive league championships, his arrival ending 4 years without success. Aboutrika was also a key component in the Egypt team that won consecutive Afcons in 2006 and 2008.
I witnessed his impact first hand during a league game in the summer of 2007. Ambling elegantly on the edge of the box; a goal line scramble, a hurried clearance, and the ball fell to the captain. Effortlessly, nonchalantly, he slammed the ball into the bottom corner, the resulting three points easing Ahly closer to another title. It was a last-minute wonder goal, Roy of the Rovers stuff, a captain’s strike that Steven Gerrard would have been proud of. The stadium exploded, ululating supporters, flares, confetti, you name it…and Aboutrika stood serene, before prostrating himself on the ground, facing Mecca, paying homage to Allah.
It was not the unruffled celebration of a Balotelli or a Cantona, an arrogant expression of superiority, it was the personal conviction of a player acutely conscious of his privilege.
This brings me onto Aboutrika the man, the special guy, the pride of a nation. The idea of a political footballer draws diverse images to mind: Paolo di Canio’s divisive salute in the Rome derby, or the late Sócrates and his democratic ideals. Aboutrika, with his Philosophy degree from the University of Cairo, is an altogether different prospect.
Everyone has a favourite Aboutrika anecdote. Mine is from his Tersana days: after learning that a teammate was receiving a modest wage compared to his own, Aboutrika refused to sign a new contract. Despite much cajoling from the club chairman, he stayed true to his principles, and insisted on accepting the meagre income.
The player has spoken out poignantly and articulately about subjects such as cancer, blood donation, poverty, and religion. His most famous political statement came during the 2008 Afcon competition, when, after scoring against Sudan, he revealed a shirt with ‘Sympathize with Gaza’ written on his chest.
This act made the midfielder a hero in the Gaza strip, and Palestinians with photographs, banners, and flags celebrated the Egyptian victory in a very public display of appreciation. Red 22 shirts became hugely popular in Palestine, as an incredibly public, political message, on such a big stage, resonated in the Arab world.
Aboutrika is aware, perhaps as much as anyone, how football and politics cross paths. Only time will tell the true ramifications of the recent violence, and the direction Egypt will take in the post-Mubarak era. One thing is certain though, that Egypt will stand in much better stead with men like Aboutrika inspiring the nation, be it on or off the pitch.