WHEN BOB BRADLEY took over the role of coaching the United States men's soccer team from Bruce Arena in the fall of 2006, words fail to describe the size of shoes the Montclair, N.J., native needed to fill.

Sure he was proven on the collegiate and professional levels. As a coach for three teams over a 9-year span in Major League Soccer, Bradley won an MLS Cup title (Chicago Fire, 1998) in addition to being a two-time MLS Coach of the Year (Chicago 1998, Chivas USA 2006).

Still, when the 51-year-old was appointed interim coach after Arena left in December 2006, it was unclear how Bradley planned to bolster a team riding the ebbs and flows of a Gold Cup title in 2005 and the embarrassing low of what can only be described as a lackluster showing in the 2006 World Cup.

"There were expectations, sure, but I was confident that with the right personnel assembled, we had what it took to be viewed as a tough team to beat," Bradley said yesterday following a press conference with the four coaches of the teams playing in Saturday's Gold Cup quarterfinals at Lincoln Financial Field.

The U.S. Soccer Federation left the interim tag attached to Bradley's back until May 16, 2007, after his team ran up a 3-0-1 mark in its first four games. To thank his new bosses, Bradley led the Americans to a 12-5-1 overall record that year, which included beating Mexico in the 2007 Gold Cup final. In addition, Bradley led a run of victories that marked the most successful first year for any coach in U.S. men's national team history, with 10 wins in his first 11 games.

"It's fun watching the fruits of your labor," Bradley said. "To witness the hours of planning, preparation and practice turn into a win is the most gratifying feeling any coach can have. It's always been my mindset that proper preparation produces positive results so that's how I go about my job."

Sports have always been in the bloodline of the Bradley family. His brother Scott was a catcher for the Yankees, White Sox, Mariners and Reds. His other brother Jeff is a senior writer at ESPN the Magazine, and his son Michael, who plays in the German Bundesliga, has gone through the ranks of U.S. Soccer.

But for Bob, it was always soccer.

The United States' success under Bradley comes from the notion that players aren't playing for him, they are playing for themselves. With that mindset, the face of American soccer has changed significantly, with youth now trumping experience.

"The thing about Bob is that he opens the door and gives players a chance to exceed and grow as both a player and a person," said Philadelphia Union coach Peter Nowak.

Nowak and Bradley have a history. The former Polish national team captain played for Bradley during the MLS Cup title season with Chicago in 1998. And prior to accepting the role as manager of the Union, Nowak served as Bradley's top assistant, heading up the U.S. under-23 national squad that competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"Bob runs a tight ship," Nowak said. "But his knowledge of the game and his fairness makes it easy to earn the respect of his players."

A stonefaced Bradley yesterday went to bat for players some consider the "B" team to the contingent that upset top-ranked Spain and nearly knocked off Brazil for the Confederations Cup in South Africa last month.

"The group that we have here at the moment covers everything," he said. "We feel good about the way things are and there will be no addition of players for this game . . . our preparation is the same regardless of the team we put on the field."

That confidence and mutual respect has carried the U.S. to lofty heights in the soccer world. According to FIFA, soccer's world governing body, the U.S. currently ranks 12th in the world.

Part of the United States' continued success following the resignation of Arena stems from the fact that Bradley had been the backdrop of Arena's soccer landscape for so long his succession was bound to happen.

Both celebrated a pair of MLS Cup titles (1996, 1997) with Bradley as Arena's sidekick at D.C. United, both held the same roles in qualifying the U.S. Olympic Team for the Games in Atlanta. They even go as far back as Arena's head coaching days at the University of Virginia, where Bradley was his assistant. Now on his own, Bradley has picked up where Arena left off, running a 29-12-5 national team record heading into Saturday's Gold Cup quarterfinal match against Panama.

From his collegiate coaching days at Princeton, leading the Tigers to a pair of Ivy League titles (1988, 1993), to contending for the a third straight U.S. Gold Cup title, Bradley has proven himself to be a winner.

And a winner has been exactly what the face of U.S. soccer needs. *

To read about the U.S. soccer team's past games in Philadelphia, go to: go.philly.com/pretzel.