USMNT: Was Sunil Gulati in the Wrong?

Yesterday, after much skepticism over the future of US men's national team head coach Bob Bradley, US Soccer president Sunil Gulati announced he would relieve the manager of his post.

The news did not come as a shock to many. As this site and others in the media have made well clear, most fans thought it was time for Bradley to step aside as head coach.

Some were more aggressive and thought he should have never had the position in the first place. Others thought he had done well and got the team as far as he could.

In both cases, there was the belief that international soccer cannot continue to grow in this country with Bradley at the helm.

Less than 24 hours later, Gulati made another announcement that was met with even further applause. Former Germany manager Jurgen Klinsmann will be the new head coach for the men.

For years, US fans have been clamoring for the German to head their national side. The 46-year-old has a proven track record of success with the German national team, and many believe he could replicate that here in his adopted country.

The fact that these announcements came so quickly on the heels of one another makes it quite apparent that Gulati had been courting Klinsmann for quite some time. Klinsmann was approached before about the position after the 2006 World Cup debacle but could not agree on terms with the federation.

It is unreasonable to think that they were able to find common ground this time in less than a day of negotiations, especially when this team is in much more dire need of help than that '06 squad.

Was Gulati in the right to basically go behind the back of Bradley and hire a manager when he still had one in place? If this is the move he was going to make, then why did he not fire him in the following days after the Mexico loss?

I for one feel that this can be chalked up as another one of Gulati's big missteps. Perhaps it will pay dividends by producing a quality squad that will compete on levels it never had before.

But I personally feel that Bradley, who had a reasonably successful tenure in charge, was out right dishonored by Gulati and the federation.

What are your opinions on the matter?