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Bradley Struggles To Explain Heavy Mexico Loss
A second half battering gave Mexico the Gold Cup trophy. United States coach Bob Bradley was left fumbling around for how to spin it.
Jul 26, 2009 9:02:34 PM
United States head coach Bob Bradley oversaw a crushing 5-0 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final. After the match, he failed to explain the breakdown and was left grasping at platitudes about learning from the battering for next time.
“The second half for us is not what we’re all about,” Bradley asserted in the post-match press conference. “It’s important we can look hard at ourselves and learn from a half like that and use it the right way.”
After going nearly an hour without conceding, the U.S. defense imploded in the 56th minute. Giovani Dos Santos won a rather dubious penalty, which captain Gerardo Torrado dispatched to open the scoring. From there, the American defense fell apart, letting in four more in the next half hour.
“The area where we didn’t do well enough was our response to the first goal,” admitted Bradley. “I think the first half we played pretty well, and now when the second half starts you obviously want to build on that.
“It’s about your ability to make sure that the game doesn’t become a free-for-all, where the other team has all sorts of space and opportunities, where you’re numbers aren’t good enough in the back when the ball turns over, where you loose bad balls, there’s a lot of different things there that obviously came into play. I think it’s most important that we can look at those things.”
The turnover for the next time these CONCACAF rivals meet is short. Bradley will lead a more experienced team into Azteca Stadium on August 12, and if the U.S. is to have a shot at its first win there, Bradley will have to learn the lessons of the Gold Cup final.
“When you have a game that feels like this at the end you don’t forget it. It’s something that we will always on the inside talk about, be honest about, and hopefully we can use it in a way that we’re better from it today.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
Visit Goal.com for more coverage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“The second half for us is not what we’re all about,” Bradley asserted in the post-match press conference. “It’s important we can look hard at ourselves and learn from a half like that and use it the right way.”
After going nearly an hour without conceding, the U.S. defense imploded in the 56th minute. Giovani Dos Santos won a rather dubious penalty, which captain Gerardo Torrado dispatched to open the scoring. From there, the American defense fell apart, letting in four more in the next half hour.
“The area where we didn’t do well enough was our response to the first goal,” admitted Bradley. “I think the first half we played pretty well, and now when the second half starts you obviously want to build on that.
“It’s about your ability to make sure that the game doesn’t become a free-for-all, where the other team has all sorts of space and opportunities, where you’re numbers aren’t good enough in the back when the ball turns over, where you loose bad balls, there’s a lot of different things there that obviously came into play. I think it’s most important that we can look at those things.”
The turnover for the next time these CONCACAF rivals meet is short. Bradley will lead a more experienced team into Azteca Stadium on August 12, and if the U.S. is to have a shot at its first win there, Bradley will have to learn the lessons of the Gold Cup final.
“When you have a game that feels like this at the end you don’t forget it. It’s something that we will always on the inside talk about, be honest about, and hopefully we can use it in a way that we’re better from it today.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
Visit Goal.com for more coverage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
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