Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Bahrain’s newly-appointed coach Anthony Hudson, highly-regarded as one of international football’s most promising tacticians, is delighted to be in the hot-seat of the national squads, writes Mai Al Khatib-Camille.
Hudson, 32, now officially Senior and Under-23 coach, said: “I’m very proud and excited to be taking over from Gabriel Calderon. I’ve been in the kingdom for a long time. I know all the players and Bahrain football. There are a lot of good players on the senior team. “
Argentinian Calderon had a short spell in charge of the senior side but failed to agree terms with the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) to continue his reign after replacing former Hull City manager Peter Taylor.
“Peter had brought me here. I was disappointed when he had to leave. It was a difficult situation. I’m eternally grateful to Peter for bringing me here and giving me the opportunity.
“At the moment I’m totally focused on the Gulf Cup but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Hudson is currently Bahrain’s Olympic team coach and this week guided his side to the semi-finals of this year’s fifth Huawei GCC National Teams Under-23 Championship tournament, which is being hosted by Bahrain, with an impressive opening 1-0 victory over the UAE, thanks to a cool strike by Hamad Al Dakheel.
According to the BFA, Hudson will begin his duties with the first team once the Olympics-age team competition is over. The seniors will be playing a game in early September and they will then head into qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup Finals in October and November.
Hudson is the son of former Chelsea, Stoke City, Arsenal and England midfielder Alan. He started his playing career with the youth team of West Ham United before playing with Luton Town FC and American outfit Wilmington Hammerheads.
Hudson became one of the youngest-ever to obtain a UEFA Pro License, while also becoming the youngest head coach of a professional team in the US. Hudson also worked under veteran English coach Harry Redknapp, coached Welsh club Newport County and enjoyed special training and tactical sessions with celebrated Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho during his time at Spanish giants Real Madrid.
One of the first people to offer congratulations to Hudson on his Bahrain appointment was Taylor, who recently coached the England Under-20 squad. Taylor said: “Anthony is a very good coach. He works very hard and covers everything to help the players and teams perform well.”
