After the 2002 MLS season, Bradley resigned as coach of the Fire to return to New Jersey as head coach of the MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls). Bradley began his tenure with the historically underachieving team headed in the right direction as the MetroStars advanced to the U.S. Open Cup final for the first time in club history in 2003 as well as earning a playoff berth. Bradley also gained attention for an infamous incident in a match against D.C. United that season in which he exploited an MLS rule allowing a 4th substitution for a goalkeeper by switching starting goalkeeper Tim Howard into an outfield player so that midfielder Eddie Gaven (who would go on to score the winning goal) could enter the game classified as a goalkeeper, before switching positions with Howard after ten seconds of play. Bradley stayed with the MetroStars for three years before he was fired with three games left in the 2005 regular season. The club had suffered losses in back-to-back fixtures and diminishing playoff prospects prior to Bradley's firing. Shortly after leaving the MetroStars, Bradley was named the coach at Los Angeles club Chivas USA for the 2006 season. Bradley revived a Chivas USA team that had endured a poor inaugural season in 2005, discovering young talents such as Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein and leading the team to a third-place finish in the Western Conference before losing in the playoffs to eventual champions Houston Dynamo. United States Following the U.S. men's national team's disappointing showing at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, U.S. Soccer appointed Bradley the interim coach of the team, succeeding Arena in December 2006. On his debut on January 20, his team defeated Denmark 3–1 in a friendly in Los Angeles. In May, having won three out of four games, he was appointed permanently. His team won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup in June, with a 2–1 final win over Mexico. Weeks later at the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela, the team lost all three games, his first defeats in charge. Bradley led the U.S. team to an unlikely second-place finish in the 2009 Confederations Cup, including a 2–0 semi-final victory over European champions Spain, ending the Spaniards' 35-game unbeaten streak and 15-game winning streak. In the final, Bradley's U.S. team opened up a 2–0 lead on Brazil before losing 3–2. With the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup taking