ESPN Soccer

Seth Wickersham's recent Mag story about the perfect NFL coaching candidate inspired us to look closely at what kind of managerial experience the coaches at the World Cup have and how U.S. head man Bob Bradley stacks up.

Yes, there are long-termers such as Denmark's Morten Olsen (coach since 2000), Greece's Otto Rehhagel (2001), who can drink free ouzo as long as he wants thanks to his triumph in Euro 2004, and France's Raymond Domenech (2004), whose staying power is inexplicable (except perhaps by astrology).

And, of course, there are second-timers such as Mexico's Javier Aguirre, hired in the middle of last year but doing an encore after the 2002 World Cup, and defending champion Marcello Lippi, who quit coaching Italy after the Azzurri's '06 triumph but returned after Roberto Donadoni's squad bombed out of Euro 2008.

But it turns out that Bradley is one of the longest-tenured coaches in this year's tournament. Hired in December 2006 as Bruce Arena's interim replacement and earning the full-time job the next year, Bradley has helmed his current team for a longer stretch than all but seven of the 31 other coaches heading to South Africa. And three of those were also 2006 hires.

For exclusive insight from Sunil Gulati into the rare stability employed by the U.S., plus the latest news and notes on the national team, you must be an ESPN Insider.