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The tubes and wires that are the lifeblood of the Goal blog’s link to its readers have been overheating since Saturday’s Concacaf Gold Cup final, in which Mexico toyed with the United States in its 4-2 victory. Everyone is a critic and no person has come in for more criticism than the coach of the American team, Bob Bradley.

While the Goal blog strives to remain objective about the status of Bradley, who after last year’s World Cup signed a new four-year contract with U.S. Soccer, the outpouring of opinions from recent comments prompted a question to Sunil Gulati, the president of the federation. After a 4-0 loss to Spain in a friendly on June 4, Gulati gave Bradley an absolute vote of confidence. On Saturday, Gulati slipped out of Pasadena, Calif., without commenting about Bradley.

The question to Gulati on Tuesday was simple and straightforward: Will Bob Bradley remain coach of the U.S. national team?

His answer (in an email response) was, “We’ll have something to say later this week.” U.S. Soccer officials later said that Gulati’s one sentence response was not intended to imply that he was planning to make a coaching change.

While Bradley still has three years remaining on the contract Gulati gave him last year — the reason his firing seemed to be a long shot — it’s time to take a quick look at who might be available if Gulati (who was recently re-elected to a new term as federation president) decides to replace him. (Bear in mind that any replacement, assuming there is one, will still have the same basic core of players to work with. So don’t get too excited.)

If Bradley goes (and it remains a big if), should the United States seek a foreign coach? Bear in mind that Bradley and his predecessor, Bruce Arena, are both students of the game but never truly played at the highest level. Should the new coach have playing experience at the elite level? Do you think that, after five years as the team’s sober and straight ahead leader, Bradley has lost the attention of his players? Or is it simply time for a change?

The leading candidates:



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Jürgen Klinsmann He has the media-friendly personality, the high-level coaching experience and the unquestioned playing chops to be a respected choice among fans and players alike. The question is whether he will finally end his years-long tango with Gulati about control and take the job? Their on-again, off-again courtship has been like watching a nascent middle school romance. Maybe Gulati can slip him a note that says, “If you want to coach for me, check this box [ ].”

Sven Goran Eriksson A disaster with Mexico, a laughingstock in England, a star (in puppet form) on “Special 1 TV,” Eriksson seems to draw mention whenever there is a high-profile opening anywhere in the world. So why should this time be any different? He’s got baggage, but who doesn’t these days?

Dominic Kinnear Born in Scotland, Kinnear is a naturalized U.S. citizen who played in M.L.S. in the league’s early days. Moving to the bench, he was Frank Yallop’s assistant when San Jose won two league titles, then moved to Houston when the team picked up stakes. With a lineup that included Stuart Holden and Brian Ching, the Dynamo won back-to-back league championships in 2006 and 2007. With the club’s roster in flux after the departures of Holden and Ricardo Clark, Kinnear may be ready for a new challenge.

Sigi Schmid Born in Germany 58 years ago, Schmid moved to California with his family when he was 4 years old. After leading U.C.L.A. to several N.C.A.A. titles, Schmid took the job as an assistant to Bora Milutinovic for the 1994 World Cup. He had success as coach of the Galaxy and later Columbus, taking the Crew to the 2008 title before jumping to expansion Seattle. His teams may not play the most attractive brand of soccer, but you have to have the horses first.

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Jason Kreis Still only in his 30s, the coach of Real Salt Lake has rocketed to the top of the wish lists of many people after turning around a moribund M.L.S. team and taking it to the league championship in 2009 and nearly to this year’s FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. In a small market, Kreis, who is single-minded in his devotion to the game (his players even had training the day of the last Super Bowl) has made sharp decision in his acquisitions (see, Espindola, Fabian; Morales, Javier) from South American and has a keen eye for American talent. Only played 14 times for U.S. national team, but was an M.L.S. original, playing in more than 300 games and ending his career as the league’s No. 3 career goal-scorer.

Other possibilities include:

Rafa Benítez He’s been a successful manager in major leagues with Valencia and Liverpool, though not so much with Inter. But he’s a solid tactician — an asset in the quick prepare-then-play schedule of a national team — who prefers a 4-2-3-1 that fits with the players he’d inherit. He also speaks fluent English and, most important, is currently out of work.

Luiz Felipe Scolari Big Phil (why is he called that, he’s only 5-11?) has been around the block and around the world on a coaching carousel. After you’ve seen Chelsea how can you work in Uzbekistan? After you’ve won a World Cup with Brazil how could you ever contemplate parachuting in with the U.S.? Money talks, in English or Portuguese.

Roberto Donadoni Forty-nine games in the midfield for the woeful MetroStars of M.L.S. should not disqualify the thoughtful Italian. After leading several Serie A clubs, Gulati was about to hire Donadoni. But the day of the 2006 final, as Marcello Lippi submitted his resignation as Italy won the title, Gulati’s call to Donadoni’s agent to seal the deal was a disaster. He was told Donadoni was back in Italy preparing for his introduction as Italy’s national team coach. That didn’t last long and now Donadoni is back in Serie A at Cagliari. If the U.S. is looking for a little tactical sophistication, this might be the guy.

Marcelo Bielsa A solid record coaching club teams in his native Argentina, Mexico and Spain led to him taking over the Albiceleste in 1998. He left in 2004, giving way to Jose Pekerman and slipped across the Andes to take the same job with rival Chile in 2007. With an eye for young talent and a commitment to an attacking style, Bielsa’s took Chile back to the World Cup. He resigned this past February, coincidentally a few weeks after an exhibition match in the United States at the end of January.

Louis Van Gaal Fired by Bayern Munich in April — his latest messy divorce from an employer — Van Gaal has the high-level experience (Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern), he has managed at the international level (though the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2002 finals with him in charge) and he is flexible enough tactically to adjust to the tools in the box. The downside? He can be a prickly personality, he doesn’t like to be criticized or managed, and you can almost guarantee that, win or lose, it won’t end well.

Carlos Queiroz A former coach with the MetroStars, Manchester United, South Africa, Real Madrid, Portugal and now Iran, Queiroz was one of the lead authors in 1998 when the U.S. federation commissioned Project 2010, a plan to win the World Cup by … 2010. O.K., so much for quasi-academic studies. Still, anybody who has spent this much time at the foot of Alex Ferguson should be good enough for the U.S. No?

Corner kick: Do you think Bradley will be replaced this week? Since the United States won’t begin qualifying until next year, and has no friendlies scheduled, Gulati has some time to weigh his options. Who would you like to see on the bench?