Published 5/15/2007 11:44:51 AM by staff from espn

Bob Bradley, named interim coach of the US national football squad five months ago while a job search continued, will reportedly be named to the post full time here on Wednesday. Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the decision, ESPN's website reported that Bradley would get the job, ending a 10-month search to replace Bruce Arena following last year's first-round World Cup exit.

US Soccer has scheduled a news conference here Wednesday.  If Bradley indeed receives the full-time backing, his first match guiding the Americans without an interim tag will come June 2 when the US squad will face China in a friendly at San Jose, Califorina.  That will be the Americans final test before playing in the North American Gold Cup continental championship, which opens June 7, and the Copa America, the South American championship tournament that begins on July 28.

Sunil Gulati, the US Soccer Federation president, was looking at other people for the job last December when he handed Bradley the interim post saying he wanted to wait until European league seasons ended to consider all possible candidates.  US Soccer appeared close to a deal with former German national team coach Juergen Klinsmann, but talks failed and Gulati delayed a final decision.

But Bradley, 49, made a strong impression with a 3-0 with one drawn record on an interim basis, including a 2-0 victory over Mexico in February. Bradley spent nine seasons as a coach in Major League Soccer, winning a league crown with Chicago in 1998 and setting a mark for coaches with 124 triumphs. He coached Chivas USA last year, taking the league's worst club from the prior season and turning it into a playoff qualifier.

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