Norwegian club Stabaek bids farewell to former American coach Bradley

Former United States national team manager Bob Bradley has left his position as head coach of Norwegian team Stabaek — by mutual consent and effective immediately — the club announced Monday. The decision comes after Stabaek, currently in the Norwegian second division, suffered its third consecutive defeat at home to IK Start, 3-2, over the weekend.

The result puts Stabaek in seventh place with seven games remaining, level with sixth-placed Lyn, who currently hold the final qualifying spot for the promotion play-offs.

Bjørn Helge Riise will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

“Bob will always be a special part of the club’s history — a wise football head with an enormous work ethic and great dedication,” said Stabaek chairman Espen Moe. “After a long period of limited development and mixed results, we have agreed in consultation with Bob to end our cooperation. At the same time, we are very grateful to Bob for the work and effort he has put into the club and we wish him every success in the future.”

This was Bradley’s second stint at Stabaek. He managed the club from 2014 to 2015. During that time, the Montclair, New Jersey native became the first American to coach a team in the top division of a European league. Stabaek also qualified for the Europa League.

After spells at Le Havre, Swansea City, LAFC and Toronto FC, Bradley returned to Stabaek last year in an attempt to help the team avoid relegation from the Norwegian top division. The attempt was ultimately unsuccessful.

Bradley’s first forays into the coaching ranks came in the American university system with Ohio University, the University of Virginia (as an assistant) and Princeton University. After serving as an assistant with the US Under-23 men’s national team and DC United, Bradley took charge of MLS expansion team Chicago Fire, leading the team to an MLS Cup and US Open Cup in his first season as manager.

In 2006, after stints with the NY/NJ MetroStars and Chivas USA, Bradley was named manager of the U.S. men’s national team, initially on an interim basis before being promoted to full-time. He led the U.S. to the 2007 Gold Cup title and later to the round of 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was fired in 2011 after the U.S. lost to Mexico in the final of the 2011 Gold Cup.

Bradley was soon back at work with the Egyptian national team and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, despite the Egyptian national league being suspended for two years following the 2012 Port Said Stadium disaster.

Should Bradley decide to return to MLS, there are several teams in need of a manager, including Atlanta United FC, Chicago Fire FC, FC Dallas, St. Louis City SC and the San Jose Earthquakes.