U.S. Team Arrives in South Africa: Coach Bob Bradley Meets The Press
Written by Ron Furlong, Wednesday June 02 2010
The U.S. team is getting along well in their little fortress in South Africa.
The team is staying at the 74 room Irene Country Lodge, between Pretoria and Johannesburg. They are protected by stone walls and barbed wire. Their interview tent is located on a dairy farm within the confines of those walls and wire.
The American team will practice at Pildtich Stadium in Pretoria. This is the same stadium they practiced at last summer when in South Africa for the Confederation's Cup.
On Tuesday coach Bob Bradley and Captain Carlos Bocanegra met the media in the U.S.'s first press conference since arriving in South Africa.
"Our arrival was a good one and travel seemed quite easy," Bradley said. "Maybe we're just used to it by now."
"So far," Bradley continued, "the organization on all ends has been great and we certainly appreciate the efforts of the local organizing committee, the South African Police and the U.S. State Department, but I think everything has run very smoothly. The team is excited to get started."
When asked about the the training facility Bradley said, "We trained at Pildtich last year during the Confederation's Cup and the field was quite good then, and they tell me it is even better this year."
Bob also addressed the group the United States has drawn, which includes England, Algeria and Slovenia.
"I think we have a tough group, " he said. "Of course, so much attention has been put on the first match against England... The spotlight on that game is huge... But at the same time, we've watched Slovenia and Algeria so much. We've seen the way they've played in order to qualify for the World Cup. We've continued to follow them since and we understand that each opponent is talented...."
Carlos Bocanegra was asked about what the team needed to work on against Australia in the friendly coming up Saturday, the last warm up for the team.
"First off," he said, "we need to sharpen up defensively. I think that could be improved on."
He was also asked about his fitness level following his surgery.
"I feel good. It was nice to get the 75 minutes (versus Turkey on Saturday)... I just need to work on sharpening up the last five percent or so. I feel good."
The U.S. team has three full days of practice in Pretoria before the game on Saturday with Australia.
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