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Bob Bradley officially named manager of Ligue 2 club Le Havre

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Bob Bradley is officially the manager of Ligue 2 side Le Havre. The club announced that the American has been hired, effective immediately, and will be on the touchline on Saturday for the team's Coupe de France match.

Bradley joins Le Havre from Stabaek, where he led the team to a third place finish in the Norwegian league and became the first American manager to ever qualify his team for European competition by getting them to the Europa League. His work there, after admirable work with the Egypt national team, a strong run as United States manager and nearly a decade in MLS, has him now on the verge of managing in a major European league.

Le Havre are fourth in Ligue 2, only four points out of first place. If Bradley can guide the team into the top two, they will be promoted to the top flight and Bradley will be managing in Ligue 1. That would make him unquestionably the most accomplished American manager ever in Europe and at the highest level any American has ever reached.

Bradley has made it clear that his goal is to manage in one of Europe's top leagues. He could have gone back to MLS, where teams would be falling over themselves to hire him, but his dreams are bigger than that. Being an American manager abroad isn't easy and Bradley had to take smaller jobs, like Egypt and Stabaek, to get the attention of European clubs. If he wasn't American, the path would probably have been easier, but now he's just a strong finish to the season and promotion from getting where he wants. Hopefully he can do it, for himself, and for all the Americans who want to manager at the highest level in the future.