When Bob Bradley signed on as the Egyptian men’s national team soccer coach last September, there’s little chance he knew what he’d be dealing with just five months later.
A year after the Arab Spring uprisings toppled long-time Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, violence erupted at the end of a soccer match in Port Said last Wednesday that left at least 74 dead and scores more wounded.
The violence has left Bradley, the former U.S. men’s national coach who began his coaching career with the Ohio men’s soccer team in 1981 at the age of 22, unsure of his feature in the country after Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri dissolved the board of the Egyptian Football Association last weekend.
But the coach, who also graduated from Ohio’s graduate sports management program, said his focus is on the families of those who died and the players on the teams who witnessed the melee.
"I was totally saddened by everything that took place," Bradley told ESPN. "We'll wait and see how things develop in next few days, and from there what needs to be done moving forward with regards to national team."
cd211209@ohio.edu
