CAIRO: Former United States coach Bob Bradley signed a contract to take over the Egypt national team on Saturday, charged with reviving the fortunes of a side that recently failed to qualify for the African Cup of Nations. The 53-year-old Bradley agreed a deal worth $37,000 a month until after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. "I'm proud to take over as coach of Egypt," Bradley said at a news conference. "I'm looking forward to dealing with the players." Bradley's first match in charge is a friendly against five-time world champion Brazil in November. Longtime coach Hassan Shehata stepped down in June after Egypt collected two points from four African Cup qualifiers and a subsequent loss to Sierra Leone confirmed Egypt's failure to qualify for a tournament it has won on the last three occasions. The record seven-time winners will not feature at the continental championship for the first time in 33 years. Bradley was fired as US coach in July after more than four years in charge and replaced by Jurgen Klinsmann. His main task will be to try to qualify Egypt for the World Cup for the first time since 1990. Egypt is favorite to emerge from a group which also includes Guinea, Zimbabwe, Comoros and Mozambique. Bradley's assistant is yet to be named but the Egyptian Football Association said it would be a local coach. Bradley led the US to the last 16 of the World Cup last year and signed a contract extension until 2014 as a result. But even as Bradley was given a new deal, there were concerns the team had stagnated under his leadership and a Gold Cup loss at home to Mexico in June was critical in his departure.
