New Swansea City manager Bob Bradley said Jurgen Klinsmann was "jockeying" for his job as United States coach during the 2010 World Cup and called his firing from the national team a "mistake."
Klinsmann, who succeeded Bradley as U.S. boss in 2011, said this week it was "fantastic" that Bradley landed the job in the Premier League -- the first American to do so.
At his first Swansea news conference on Friday, Bradley acknowledged Klinsmann's remarks, but he revealed that he did not appreciate hearing Klinsmann's opinions on U.S. Soccer as a pundit for ESPN in South Africa six years ago.
"From the day I got fired from the U.S., I've not said one thing publicly about that team. I don't appreciate the way it was done; I think they made a mistake," Bradley said.
"I'm glad that Jurgen said some nice things now. When he did commentary on the 2010 World Cup, he was already jockeying for the job, so I shut my mouth, continued to support the team because I of course want to see the team do well, Michael [Bradley, his son] is the captain.
"So if [Klinsmann] said something in a nice way, I appreciate it, and if at some point he chooses to try to work outside the U.S., I wish him the best."
The U.S. won their group in South Africa but were defeated in the Round of 16, and Bradley stayed in the job until the following summer, when the Americans lost the CONCACAF Gold Cup final to Mexico in June.
Bradley was fired a month later and replaced by Klinsmann the next day.
"I got fired by the U.S., my last game was the Gold Cup final against Mexico at the Rose Bowl," Bradley said. "It was a great game, 4-2; we were ahead 2-0, they tied it up by halftime. The second half was amazing. We lost 4-2; it was a hell of a game.
"But at some point, some people didn't realize that it was a great game. When Bayern was down and came back and beat Juventus 4-2 [in the Champions League Round of 16 in March], I think everybody around Juventus was proud of the effort but, still, in the U.S., at that moment, maybe, we didn't see through all that."
Bradley also said Friday that he didn't view himself as a "pioneer" despite being the first American coach in the Premier League. He also said he was eager to "earn respect" in one of the world's most prominent divisions.