Bradley to Be Named Interim U.S. Coach

Bob Bradley will be named interim coach of the U.S. men's national soccer team today after negotiations between the sport's federation and Juergen Klinsmann collapsed this week, sources close to the situation said yesterday.

Bradley is a former D.C. United assistant and current head coach of Chivas USA, an MLS club based in Southern California. He did not respond to an e-mail request for an interview. His agent, Ron Waxman, said neither he nor Bradley would have any comment.

The U.S. Soccer Federation has scheduled a teleconference for noon today to discuss the coaching search.

The national team has been without a head coach since July, when new USSF president Sunil Gulati announced that Bruce Arena's contract would not be renewed.

Klinsmann, a former German superstar who lives in Southern California, had been considered the favorite to take the U.S. job since guiding Germany's national team to the semifinals of last summer's World Cup. However, talks with Gulati broke down because of disagreements over salary and the extent of Klinsmann's role in the USSF, sources said.

Klinsmann, who did not reply to an e-mail request for comment, told ESPN.com: "I have withdrawn my name from consideration. I'm not going to go into details."

The national team will open training camp next month and play a friendly against Denmark on Jan. 20 in Carson, Calif. -- its first game since its winless performance at the World Cup in Germany.

Several sources said they expect Gulati to wait until the end of the European club season in May before deciding on a full-time coach. Since the search began, Gulati has made several trips to Europe and South America to conduct interviews. Besides Bradley, the candidate list is believed to include former Argentina coach Jose Pekerman, Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz and Gerard Houllier, coach of French champion Lyon.

The U.S. team is scheduled to play in two major international tournaments this summer -- the CONCACAF Gold Cup at several U.S. venues, and the Copa America in Venezuela.

Bradley, 48, coached at Princeton before becoming Arena's assistant with D.C. United and the U.S. Olympic team in 1996. He was named coach of the expansion Chicago Fire two years later and led it to the 1998 MLS title. Bradley also coached the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now the Red Bulls) for three seasons before guiding Chivas USA this year.

Both he and D.C. Coach Peter Nowak had been considered second-tier candidates for the U.S. job, but, according to one source, when the Klinsmann negotiations began to fizzle, the USSF contacted Bradley. It is unclear whether he will relinquish his position with Chivas.

-- Steven Goff