Anthony Hudson: ‘I was obsessed with really just going to watch and see how the top managers dealt with certain situations’
From North America to Oceania, from the Middle East to Europe to Southeast Asia, Anthony Hudson’s passion for soccer has taken him to just about every single corner of the world. The son of ex-England international Alan Hudson, one of the greatest players of the 1970s, Anthony was born in Seattle during his father’s spell at the Seattle Sounders but later moved back to England. He bounced around from Stoke to London before commencing his playing journey at West Ham’s academy, followed by a loan spell at Luton Town and a move to Dutch side NEC Nijmegen in 2001. However, he never managed to shake free of his father’s shadow and establish his own profile on the pitch; six months after penning a two-year deal with NEC, he asked to be released and returned home. Hudson turned to alcohol in order to stomach the guilt of not succeeding as a soccer player, until eventually quitting in 2005 with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Whilst Hudson was unable to impose himself on the field, he has nevertheless made an enormous impact on the touchline, earning his coaching badges with Leyton Orient’s academy, only to realize that job opportunities would be in greater supply in his birthplace. He headed across the Atlantic, working for New Jersey-based AC Diablos SC and North Carolina-based Wilmington Hammerheads, before eventually taking charge of the Real Maryland Monarchs in 2008 and becoming the youngest head coach in the nation. During the offseason, Hudson would fly to Europe, study training sessions of elite teams, and learn from iconic managers like Sir Alex Ferguson and Marcelo Bielsa.
“For the better part of six to seven years, each offseason, I’d fly back to Europe, rent a car, drive all around England, and go and meet with Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, and others. I went everywhere in England to see all the Premier League clubs and Championship teams, and then I went over to Europe to study teams like Ajax, Barcelona, and Real Madrid—when José Mourinho was there. I was obsessed with really just going to watch and see how the top managers dealt with certain situations, how they would build their team, and how they acted in team meetings,” stated Hudson in an exclusive World Soccer Talk interview. “I think probably the biggest influence was Marcelo Bielsa. I watched a lot of his teams play, like Chile and Athletic Club, and I remember Athletic’s UEFA Europa League match vs. Manchester United… I don’t think I had ever seen a team run as much as they did with and without the ball. They were so coordinated; it was organized chaos, so exciting to watch.”
“That’s why you love football; you want to see a team that gives absolutely everything, that’s playing together and giving everything to attack and win the ball back. I went to see Bielsa two to three times when he was in Bilbao, I went to see him when he was in Marseille, and I went to his home in Argentina and spent a few hours with him, which was an incredible experience. I learned a lot from him in terms of training methods and how to practice, how to prepare a group of players to put on a performance as they did. I was obsessed as a young coach with learning, and I used to watch all these Bielsa press conferences for all of my Spanish lessons. All me and my teachers ever did was watch Bielsa press conferences and translate them. I’d watch it on my own, write all the words down that I didn’t know, ask different things, and then we went on the session, and it was always press conferences or interviews with Bielsa. That was a big motivation for learning Spanish, and also, when I went to Maryland, our squad was entirely consisting of Latino players, so I realized I needed to learn Spanish.”
After an impressive spell in Rockville that saw him be nominated for the USL Second Division 2009 Coach of the Year Award, Hudson returned to the UK in 2010, working with Tottenham Hotspur’s reserves before assuming the ranks of fifth-tier Newport County, where he lasted just five months at the helm. Hudson then decided to work alongside his friend John Still as an unpaid assistant at Dagenham & Redbridge, where he came across Bahrain manager Peter Taylor, who, just a few days later, called him up and offered him the chance to coach Bahrain’s U-23 side. He led them to their maiden gold medal in the 2013 GCC U-23 Championship before taking charge of Bahrain’s senior team and overseeing a third-place finish in the 2013 WAFF Championship. This would earn him a move to New Zealand, who gave him the opportunity to coach their New Zealand senior team and their U-20 and U-17 sides. Hudson repaid their confidence by qualifying the All Whites for the knockout rounds of the U-17 and U-20 World Cup for the very first time, as well as winning the 2016 OFC Nations Cup and qualifying for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
“I loved it in New Zealand. It was another completely different culture shock, because the country is changing a little bit, but you have to respect the culture, learn about it, and understand it, especially as a national team. You have to learn about the culture, you have to really understand what it means to be from that country, and what they are all about. That was my first year, just going around the country and talking to the All Blacks and different rugby teams and the key people in the country and learning what it means to be a proud New Zealander.”
“We had a really good group of players, just an amazing attitude in the group with so many great characters like Winston Reid and Chris Wood. It was a really good squad. I took over a team that had failed to qualify for the Confederations Cup and got hammered by Mexico in the playoff. Players didn’t really want to come fly all the way back to New Zealand, and they weren’t happy with how the team was and the professionalism, all that sort of stuff. It was a complete rebuild, really, and I loved it. It was a great experience—one that I will never forget—and a good stage for me.”
Similarly to other Englishmen like Martin Tyler, Hudson has been able to stake out a legacy not just in Oceania, but the United States. After coming within inches of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and losing to Peru in the intercontinental playoff, Hudson moved across the Pacific and took charge of the Colorado Rapids in November 2017, where he managed 8 wins, 26 draws, and 9 defeats before being given the axe after just over a year in charge. Rather than continue in a head coaching role, Hudson opted to step away from the spotlight and spent two years as Gregg Berhalter’s assistant, helping the US Men’s National Team beat Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League Final and the Concacaf Gold Cup Final and reach the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where they made it all the way to the Round of 16. Hudson then replaced Berhalter as the head coach in January 2023, overseeing four friendlies before deciding to leave after four months in charge. He traded Chicago for Qatar, overseeing Al-Markiyah SC and Al-Arabi before taking charge of Thai outfit BG Pathum in February 2025.
Hudson enjoyed success with the Rabbits, leading them from seventh to third with eight victories, three stalemates, and two defeats before being dismissed from his post. He remained in the country, and, after less than seven months out of work, took charge of the Thailand national team on October 22, 2025. After overseeing a 3-2 friendly win vs. Singapore, Hudson’s side demolished Sri Lanka 4-0, and they sit second in Group D of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers with 12 points (level with Turkmenistan) despite scoring more goals and conceding fewer. It’s why, in order to qualify for a third-straight Asian Cup, Thailand needs to win at home against Turkmenistan on March 31.
“Bangkok is a great place and a great city. If you had asked me in 2024 if I could see myself in Thailand, I probably wouldn’t have said yes, but I’ve really liked it. I had some interviews with a few different teams, I turned down a couple of jobs in different parts of the world, and then the Pathum job came up, and I thought, ‘Why not? Let’s do it!’ I thought they had a good squad in this league. You never know in life—I never knew I’d be going to Bahrain or New Zealand. The most important thing when I travel is making sure my dog’s okay. That’s why, despite having a couple of offers from overseas, I was mainly talking to teams in Thailand. I’ve moved a lot, I’ve only been here for a few months, and I didn’t think I could move again so quickly. If it came to that, and I had to do it, I’d do it, but the biggest challenge with moving is traveling with dogs. I have one dog now, but travelling with two dogs is stressful because you want to make sure that they’re okay getting on the flights, and then the transition, because wherever you land for a manager’s job, you’re starting work the next day, and it’s 24/7. To get everything set up for the dog and house sitters and dog walkers and all that sort of stuff…it’s a lot to do. That’s why my preference was to stay here….I’ve really enjoyed my time in Thailand.”