DUBAI - Egypt has appointed former United States coach Bob Bradley as manager of the Egyptian national football team, the state-run news agency MENA said on Wednesday. Bradley, fired by the US in July, was on an Egyptian FA shortlist that included Francisco Maturana of Colombia and Zoran Filipovic, the former Yugoslav striker and national coach of Montenegro. Bradley replaces long-standing coach Hassan Shehata who was sacked after Egypt performed badly in two qualifying matches for the African Nations Cup this year. Bradley is expected to arrive in Cairo on Sunday or Monday to sign a contract, Egyptian FA spokesman Azmi Mugahed told MENA. Details of the deal will be announced next week. Bradley took over as the permanent head coach of the US in 2007 after being taken on as interim coach when the Americans flopped at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He enjoyed instant success, winning the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup at home and leading the US to the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. He then safely guided the team through the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, also in South Africa, but the US lost in the second round to Ghana after drawing with England in the group stage. Bradley was linked with a move to Aston Villa but signed a four-year extension last year to stay on as US head coach. However, his position came under renewed attack after the US was beaten by Panama in the group stages at last month's CONCACAF Gold Cup. They recovered to reach the final against Mexico, but squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2.
