August 6 – With so much competition at home, another British coach plying his trade overseas to make a name for himself is moving up the international ladder.
No sooner had Bobby Williamson been named as the new coach of Kenya than it was announced that Andrew Hudson (pictured) – who once managed Newport County – is leaving his post at Bahrain to take over New Zealand from Ricki Herbert.
Hudson’s first match in charge will be against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on September 8. “I want to go to the World Cup and make history with the All Whites by going further than we’ve ever gone, and I want to do it in a certain way,” said Hudson.
Hudson’s appointment was a big blow to his current employers, the Bahrain Football Association which said it was taking legal advice since he had a contract until 2016. It was also somewhat of an embarrassment to its president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa who also happens to be president of the Asian Football Confederation but has lost out to Oceania for Hudson’s services.
Herbert, who guided New Zealand to the 2010 World Cup, quit in November last year after the team missed qualifying for the 2014 World Cup following an embarrassing 9-3 loss on aggregate to Mexico in a two-leg playoff.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734868433labto1734868433ofdlr1734868433owedi1734868433sni@w1734868433ahsra1734868433w.wer1734868433dna1734868433