Of thank yous, friendlies, and Sunil’s blind faith

First things first, the US MNT has added another friendly to the November schedule by announcing their stop in Slovakia four days before playing Denmark, which will make for a good pair of measuring stick matches against a couple of fellow World Cup qualifiers on European soil. Both Slavakia and Denmark finished atop their UEFA qualifying groups, so these matches should provide a good show of where we stand against quality competition several months removed from the Confederations Cup.

Meanwhile, Sunil Gulati is patting himself on the back for his blind, unwavering, and perhaps somewhat ignorant faith in Bob Bradley. Speaking to the New York Times‘ Jack Bell, Gulati boasted:

“Bob is taking us back to South Africa, no ifs, ands or buts. “Bob is signed through the World Cup, and we’ve never been tempted to make a change. The record of the team over the last three years is Bob’s record. It’s the highest winning percentage of any coach we’ve ever had against our toughest schedule outside the U.S. We’ve qualified again, qualified early, went to our first final of a FIFA competition. We won the Gold Cup that got us to the Confederations Cup.

“I understand that if you’re a fan, you have a right to be demanding and emotional. That’s part of the territory. Our expectations have risen, and that’s a good thing. It’s acceptable and normal that fans get emotional. We want them to. We’re glad that people care.”

“We won’t even pretend to consider any of their concerns, but yeah, sure, we’re glad they care.” Lovely. When can get this guy out of office again?