Tiger of the Week: Bob Bradley '80

In soccer, national-team coaches ultimately are judged by how their teams perform at the World Cup, but just getting into the tournament can be a challenging process. This week, head coach Bob Bradley ’80 and the U.S. men's national team earned its ticket to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, winning in Honduras Oct. 10 to improve to 6-1-2 in qualifying matches.

For Bradley and his players, the celebration was cut short Oct. 13 when Charlie Davies, a 23-year-old forward on the team, was seriously injured in an early-morning car crash that killed one passenger. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Charlie and his family, as well as the people in the car and the families of the others involved," Bradley said in a press conference. "As a team, we are relying on each other in a moment that has for sure hit us all hard."

Bradley, the U.S. coach since December 2006, was a successful player at Princeton and coached the Tigers from 1984 to 1995, leading his team to the NCAA Final Four in 1993. In professional soccer, he coached the Chicago Fire to the Major League Soccer championship in 1998.

(Photo courtesy Wikipedia)

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