Sunil Gulati said American World Cup Team Failed to Meet His Expectations

The United States Soccer Federation president, Sunil Gulati said that the American team did not meet his expectations at the World Cup and that he was very likely to meet with Bob Bradley after the tournament to discuss the coach’s future. Bradley, who is the USA team coach, was hired back in December of 2006, and his contract runs through the end of the year.

Just recently the Americans were eliminated from the World Cup in the second round with a 2 – 1 overtime loss to Ghana. Gulati said on Monday that he thinks the team is capable of more. He said that he thinks that the players know it and Bob knows it. Thus, they are disappointed on that level, because they did not get to play at least another 90 minutes.

Gulati went on to say that this missed opportunity is partly a chance to get to the quarters and the matchup with Uruguay. However, it was a missed opportunity to stay in the American public’s eye for another four, five, six or even 10 days. This is bad, because interest in the American soccer team is at a high level right now. He said that he has no doubt that there will still be people at bars watching games at strange times. The TV ratings will still be good. However, the ratings might have been great for the quarterfinal game or dreaming beyond that.

Gulati finished up by saying that there was a slight chance that he would start discussions with Bradley later this week before the coach returned to the United States. The extensive talks would wait until Gulati traveled back after the World Cup final on July 11^th.