Anthony Hudson has travelled the world on a mission to develop himself as a coach. He is a thoughtful character who is tasked with taking one of the world’s smaller footballing nations, New Zealand, to Russia in 2018. We caught up with Anthony in Auckland to discuss his story, his philosophy, his mentors and how he went from West Ham Academy player to New Zealand Men’s coach via the Middle East and picked up the UEFA Pro License along the way.
It’s a warm, sunny March afternoon in Auckland, New Zealand. I arrive at Kiwitea Street, the home ground of Auckland City FC – a team that has recently had a very successful trip to the FIFA World Club Cup in Morocco, making it all the way to the semi-finals. For big clubs around the world, this may not be significant, but for a team largely made up of semi- professional or amateur players, this was a monumental result and one that captured the attention of the nation.
Football in New Zealand has always been the underdog. It’s a country that adores all sport but where football is the minority game, having to compete with rugby, rugby league and cricket for media coverage and where the All Whites are seen as a team that will very rarely get success. They also have a small player pool and have only ever attended two FIFA World Cups, in 1982 and 2010. New Zealand Football (NZF) has traditionally been full of English ex-pats, who have moved to the ‘land of the long white cloud’ for a better, simpler life but found their way into New Zealand Football in either coaching or administration.
For the current New Zealand Men’s coach, Anthony Hudson, his pathway was somewhat different. A 34-year-old Englishman who came through the English academy system at West Ham United as a young player and moved to the USA to pursue his coaching career, he now holds the prestigious UEFA Pro License and was head-hunted by NZF from Bahrain where he coached both the U23s and the men’s team.
Hudson lifts the U23 Gulf Cup of Nations with Bahrain, 2013. Photo: anothonyhudson.com
As the sun beats down and Auckland City FC take on Waitakere United, I find Anthony Hudson on one corner of the pitch, wearing a baseball cap and watching on quietly. After chatting all things football for a while, we head off and grab a coffee. As we get talking, it becomes obvious that Anthony is ferociously passionate about football, that he’s a technician, a student and a man with big ambitions for a small footballing nation. I wanted to know about his journey, and how he first got into the game.
“I was born in America because my Dad was playing over there at the time,” he explained. “But really, my first involvement was as a young kid with a ball at my feet all the time. I lived half of my life in Stoke-on-Trent and half in London. I used to go and watch Stoke City play every Saturday and that was just incredible atmosphere to be around.”
Keen to know more, I delve a little deeper into his playing background and development in the West Ham Academy. “I enjoyed my academy experience but it wasn’t easy. I used to clean the boots of Frank Lampard Snr and Steve Potts. I did find it difficult as a young player, given my Dad had been a player. I almost had a self-imposed weight on my shoulders. It was a great experience but I spent a lot of time fighting myself.
“I never wanted to make a mistake. I would always work hard and make my tackles but I was at times paralysed by fear of failure, and that fear was entirely internal.”
The mind is so powerful and I had huge insecurities about myself. Thoughts like, ‘you’ll never be as good as your Dad’, or ‘you’re not good enough to be here’.” This manifested itself in Hudson “hiding on the pitch,” he tells me. “Literally, I would move half a yard the wrong way so I wouldn’t get on the ball; I never wanted to make a mistake. I would always work hard and make my tackles but I was at times paralysed by fear of failure, and that fear was entirely internal.”
Hudson’s coaching career began in Wilmington in the USA. I asked him how this opportunity came about and why he chose to go to the USA in the first place. “I felt in America I had a better chance of coaching senior players at a younger age and I didn’t think I would get that chance in England,” he said, with what I was learning was his typical directness, before explaining: “I started off at Leyton Orient’s School of Excellence and got my badges there, but had an opportunity to go to America and managed to get a coaching job at Wilmington alongside David Irving. David was quite ‘old school’ and was comfortable letting me do a lot of work. Given I was younger than a lot of the players I had to learn quickly to communicate effectively with them. You have to be clever and sell things effectively and be careful about how you deal with each character in the team. I felt I was good at managing the individuals and spent a lot of time talking to key people within the group to get them to buy in to what I was doing. It would’ve been different if I’d been a big-name former player, but I had to validate myself.”
Between questions we chat about the coach education pathway and, as someone on the journey myself, I quiz him for advice. Should I press on with the UEFA A License or the AFC A License? Which part of the world offers the best course content? Anthony’s answer is swift: “Do both. It’s important to get as much information as you can, enjoy the courses and take from them what you need – it’s about the content and making your package as a coach better.”
Hudson with Prince Nasser of Bahrain. Photo: anothonyhudson.com
This leads me to ask how someone as young as Anthony already holds the prestigious UEFA Pro License and how he made such rapid progress to get to the level he is now in nine years. “Essentially it’s just banging down a
lot of doors,” he explained. “I wanted to progress quickly and get through the courses as fast as possible. I look around now and see big names, ex- players just walking into jobs. There’s nothing wrong with that, but as someone coming through the coach education pathway you have two choices. You can either do what a lot of people do and feel resentful, or you can find a way where you put yourself in a position where you’re more capable than them. That was my drive to get educated.”
With knowledge in the bank after completing his UEFA Pro license and an in-depth coach education journey, Hudson headed to the Middle East when the opportunity to coach in Bahrain emerged. I was curious about his time there and wanted to know how he reflects on this period of his life. Was it a tough transition? “It was a culture shock but it was incredible. I miss it, I loved the players, loved the people. The players were brilliant to work with. You can’t describe the feeling of coming off the training pitch at 2.00am in pre- season during Ramadan where the whole team is just drenched in sweat because of the humidity and we had to train late because they broke their fast at 7.00pm. What that does for team spirit is incredible. It was unique in terms of preparation; I had to factor in the players’ prayer schedule, (which was five times a day) into my planning. Even during team talks I’d be speaking and there might be five players praying away from the group while the rest of us spoke, it was quite unique.”
As Anthony elaborates on the cultural differences he experienced, I explain to him that our research has shown that ‘who we are is how we play’ – meaning that the culture and environment we develop in directly translates to our style of play. This leads me to ask if he believes the environment surrounding players in Bahrain influences their playing style as opposed to those in New Zealand and whether he believes footballers in his latest home are improving technically? “That’s a really good question. The answer is yes. The weather and the conditions in Bahrain dictate the pace of the game. It was a slow game, build up was slow and they valued technical players in the Middle East, they weren’t into running great distances and lacked physicality. In New Zealand the game is faster but probably not as technical and is more physical and mentally tough,” he told me. “I think New Zealand players have evolved in the last 4 – 8 years. In the past, Ryan Nelsen or Danny Hay epitomised the playing style of New Zealand and they were incredibly important servants for the national team. However, I believe there are more technical and exciting players emerging in the form of players like Marco Rojas and so on.”
The coffee is starting to run out at this point and I’m conscious I’ve already had an hour of Anthony’s time, but like any two coaches at any level, when you start talking football the conversation flows. As a developing coach myself in the world of professional academy football in England, I am keen to know what Anthony’s view is on working with young players compared to professionals, and what the biggest lessons he has learned in his career to date were.
“I don’t feel there is a great difference. With senior pros you have to demand higher standards at a quicker pace. With younger players you have to be a bit more patient. With the national team here in New Zealand we get very little time together so I have to use command style a lot, be direct and say ‘this is how we are going to play’. I have to demand very high standards. Perhaps your sessions need to be far more advanced in terms of technical detail as well.
In terms of lessons, there have been plenty, but one stands out. When I was in Bahrain I was under a great deal of pressure to pick a particular player. The Sheiks and the media believed he should be in the team but he went against everything I believed in as a coach and what I wanted in the team. So I spoke to a very good friend and advisor of mine who is a high profile coach. He said to me, ‘well does this player make your team better?’ I said ‘No, we’re a lesser team, he doesn’t work hard’. He said, ‘Do the other players like him?’ I said ‘No, last time he was in the group there was a big fight’. We were having this conversation in a public place, and he said (quite loudly), ‘Hang on, so when he plays you’re a lesser team, and his team mates don’t like him’? Before I could respond, he cut me off and said, ‘Well for a minute there I thought I was talking to a coach, not a politician!’
Hudson during a training session with the Bahrain National Team. Photo: anothonyhudson.com
That was a realisation to me. You have to have your own principles and your own philosophy. You can’t compromise what you believe as a coach. In New Zealand the media is less of an influence but, in my eyes, there has to be a bigger purpose in me doing this job. There has to be a bigger meaning, it’s not about me coming in and trying to win some games, it’s about building something. It’s a daily challenge for me to not compromise – there is constant pressure to stick to what you believe in and you have to be prepared to pay the price by standing by what you believe in. Your values shape what you believe in and how you coach.”
“…if I look at role models for myself, Bielsa is the one. He is on a different level to anyone else.”
When Hudson speaks of this incident and the challenges he faced politically in Bahrain, his passion for his philosophy is obvious. Having researched Hudson prior to the interview I’m intrigued to know exactly how much time he has spent with the legendary Marcelo Bielsa and Jose Mourinho and what he learned from such innovative coaches?
“They are two big names in a long list of people I have managed to connect with. I try as often as possible to go to as many places as possible to learn. But there are other coaches, such as John Steele at Luton Town who are
just as influential to me as some of the bigger names. John’s style of play is quite direct but the way in which he manages and approaches football is identical to Bielsa, they just have an entirely different view on the game. You could even argue Tony Pulis is very similar to Bielsa. Bielsa is very big on repetition, everyone knows their jobs, a clear style, the use of video, drills day in day out, the same as Pulis – but their style of play is just different. However, if I look at role models for myself, Bielsa is the one. He is on a different level to anyone else.”
Since arriving in New Zealand, Hudson has elaborated to the footballing public that he wants to build a style of play all the way through the age groups. I ask him exactly what that style involves and what challenges lay ahead for him with the All Whites.
“I would like my teams to play good, attacking football whilst being organised, aggressive and very positive with and without the ball. I try to ensure my coaching style is thoughtful and prepared. The biggest challenge in building the philosophy is contact time. The key to getting us to Russia is building the team a certain way and implementing a strong style of play. Ensuring the U20s play the same way, the U17s play the same way and it’s only going to happen by spending hours on the training pitch and playing games.”
Clearly Hudson is ambitious and has a long-term vision for football in New Zealand, but what does he really want for himself? “I want to coach in the Champions League or the Premier League,” he said, “to work at the top clubs in the world. There’s no point doing this in my view unless you want to be at the highest level. Like players wanting to get to the top, I want to work for the best clubs, be at the big games and in front of the big crowds. That’s another reason why I respect Bielsa so much. He is all about the people. He is about the fans, not the administrators, or the commercial side, football is about the people, the real fans.”
As Anthony and I conclude our conversation, I can’t help but think that New Zealand Football is at a
very interesting point in its evolution. At the helm is a young man with huge ambition. A man who has been educated at the highest level in Europe, learnt from some gurus of the game, and is on a mission to achieve big things. On first meeting, Hudson appears to have all the credentials. His challenge now is to deliver on his own, and New Zealand’s potential.
