Bob Bradley, the erstwhile manager of the USMNT, has dropped off the face of the earth. That’s an exaggeration, sort of. He’s in Norway.
After his removal from the USMNT and a stint as Egypt’s head coach, Bradley landed in Bærum, about a half-hour northwest of Oslo, in January. For those wanting to know more about Bradley’s new job, here is a primer.
His new team, Stabæk, sits at ninth place (out of 11) in the Norwegian Tippeligaen table. The club’s record is 8-3-11.
Stabæk’s home colors are blue and darker blue. Their away colors are white, and that’s it. They won the Tippeligaen in 2008 and the Norwegian Football Cup in 1998.
The club was relegated in 2012 but bounced back into the Tippeligaen just prior to Bradley’s hiring in January, 2014.
Stabæk’s leading scorer is a 20-year-old from the Ivory Coast (one of three Ivorians on the roster) named Franck Boli, with 10 goals. He can do tricks.
On defense, they have a 6’2”, 185 lbs. defender named Jørgen Hammer. They also have two Americans: 25-year-old midfielder Michael Stevens, from Hinsdale, Illinois and 28-year-old midfielder Andrew Jacobsen, a Palo Alto, California native who is on loan from New York City FC.
I’d like to picture the trio - Bradley, Stevens and Jacobsen - standing off to the side by themselves at practice, while the Norwegians go about their business, jabbering in Norwegian and not noticing the Americans. But that’s just speculation, obviously.
For those interested, Stabæk next plays Idrettsklubben Start on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 12pm (ET).
