Bob Bradley is my favorite former U.S. Soccer national team coach.

He is a square-jawed, straight-shooter kind of guy who radiates quiet passion for his work but is a model of steely decorum — and gets results. Whether it is leading the American team to the final 16 of the World Cup (South Africa 2010) or beating Spain to reach the final of the Confederations Cup (in 2009).

It was early in his tenure as national team coach that he calmly responded to what was, really, a second-guessing kind of question when I asked him, as he was leaving the practice field, why he was moving Landon Donovan from forward to the wing.

(His predecessor, Bruce Arena, a guy I like for other reasons, would have blistered me for my impertinence.)

Bradley calmly outlined his reasons, which included his contention that Donovan would see the ball nearly as often without having to exhaust himself in target-man duties. He talked me around on it, and I later conceded he had been right — Donovan was better on the wing, and so was the U.S. team.

Bradley on Friday night had the narrowest of misses in what would have been a historical moment for U.S.-born soccer coaches — leading a club to promotion in one of Europe’s big-five leagues.

His Le Havre team won 5-0 while Metz lost 1-0 to create a tie for third place in France’s Ligue 2, each on a plus-15 goal differential … but Metz goes up to Ligue 1 on the basis of having scored more goals, 54, to Le Havre’s 52.

It was that close.

American fans probably would suggest that Bradley’s achievements with the national team outstrip anything he has done at the club level, but Europeans would have disagreed if Bradley had taken Le Havre up by making up a six-goal differential on the final day of the season.

Not many men are entrusted with the job of running a club good enough to vie for promotion to the top flight of one of Europe’s top leagues, but Bradley became one of them when he was hired to coach Le Havre, 14 matches into the now-complete season.

They won 12, lost six and drew six in his 24 matches leading the Normandy side owned by an American, Vincent Volpe, who was enthusiastic about hiring Bradley.

Had Bradley’s club scored one more goal against Bourg en Bresse 01, Bradley would have gone up to play with Paris St-Germain and Lyon and Marseille in France’s top flight. And Le Havre came achingly close several times in the final 10 minutes.

Bradley has a two-season contract, and presumably he will stick around to see if he can get Le Havre up to the top level for the first time since 2008-09.

I wish him well and, as a resident of France, I will endeavor to see his team play.