Former USA coach Bob Bradley will arrive in Cairo on Tuesday to finalise taking charge of Egypt.
But Bradley has a new job: Egypt’s national team. The move couldn’t be a better fit. Bradley’s structured game plan and defensive style could do wonders for an Egyptian team full of talent, but has somehow missed out on the sport’s greatest stage: the World Cup. Egypt can attack well and has the speed to compete with the world’s top countries, as evidenced by the 2009 Confederations Cup victory over Italy in South Africa and a near draw versus Brazil.
What Bradley brings to Egypt’s squad is discipline and endurance, two aspects that have largely been Egypt’s undoing in recent times. Many Egyptians worry that the final quarter of match will bring a flurry of goals from the opposition and send Egypt packing with a draw or loss. The reason has been mainly a result of poor conditioning and a lack of discipline. For all Hassan Shehata’s success and helping lead Egypt to two consecutive continental titles, he couldn’t muster a victory when they needed it, losing to Algeria in late 2009 and watching the World Cup from his living room.
It is an unlikely marriage, Egypt and Bradley, but one that could do wonders to the Egyptian, and American, game. Bringing a manager into Cairo with such a dramatically different style than the one Egypt has been playing could be a boost to a country that hasn’t been to a World Cup since 1990. This could change, but in the end it depends on the players willingness to buy into the new coach’s system. If they do, Egypt could soon forget the past couple of years and regain its statue as the top African country and be getting on a plane in 2014, heading to Brazil.
