Bradley had long been a polarizing figure. And fairly or unfairly, frequent criticisms of him began to resurface: he was too conservative and bland; he was too loyal to players like defender Jonathan Bornstein and his son, midfielder Michael Bradley; he coached a team that too often fell behind early and had to catch up using fitness and determination more than tactical awareness and technical skill.

“We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years,” Sunil Gulati, the president of the national federation, said in a statement. “During his time as the head coach of our men’s national team, he led the team to a number of accomplishments, but we felt now was the right time for us to make a change. It is always hard to make these decisions, especially when it involves someone we respect as much as Bob. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Many others believed that the intense Bradley did as well as could be expected with the player pool available to him and that his son was vital in midfield, not a benefactor of nepotism. Bradley brought young players into the team and achieved some impressive results while building a 43-25-12 record since 2007, including a defeat of top-ranked Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup, where the Americans finished second to Brazil. The United States also finished atop its first-round group at the 2010 World Cup.

Yet there was a sense of underachievement at the tournament given the favorable draw for the United States, which departed after a second-round loss to Ghana with a sense of missed opportunity.