Bob Bradley hit out at Jurgen Klinsmann during his Swansea City presentation and accused the German of “jockeying” for his job as United States head coach in 2010.
Bradley was formally presented as Francesco Guidolin’s successor at Swansea in a media conference on Friday and Klinsmann, his replacement for the USA in 2011, came up as the subject of one question.
The former Germany international publicly congratulated Bradley on getting the Swansea job and, while the former Le Havre coach spoke of his gratitude, he clearly still harboured resentment for Klinsmann’s seemingly tactless pining for his position in 2010.
“From the day I got fired from the US, I’ve not said one thing publicly about that team,” he told reporters. “I don’t appreciate the way it was done; I think they made a mistake.
“I’m glad that Jurgen said some nice things now. When he did commentary on the 2010 World Cup, he was already jockeying for the job.
“I shut my mouth, continued to support the team because I of course want to see the team do well, Michael [Bradley’s son] is the captain.
“So if [Klinsmann] said something in a nice way I appreciate it and if at some point he chooses to try to work outside the US, I wish him the best.”
Bradley went on to reassure the staff at the club that he is not planning on a major overhaul after being appointed and highlighted the importance of Alan Curtis, with the 58-year-old eager for some stability.
“For me Alan Curtis will be very important,” Bradley added. “He’s going to be my older brother – only a little older.
“His sense of the club, his eye, his experience will be important. I’m working on getting the right balance. What I’m not doing is bringing in a whole staff.
“When I have spoken to clubs here, the sense of making sure there’s stability, a football staff in place that doesn’t change every time a manager changes is important. I see good things at Swansea City.”
Bradley’s unveiling bizarrely saw his predecessor Guidolin turn up to the media conference at a Swansea hotel before being ushered away.
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