28 Oct 2017

Report: US franchise close to hiring All Whites coach

3:53 pm on 28 October 2017

It's been reported that All Whites coach Anthony Hudson is close to being signed on by American football franchise Colorado Rapids.

All Whites coach Anthony Hudson during a press conference in Auckland. Thursday 23 April 2015. Copyright Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.co.nz

All Whites coach Anthony Hudson Photo: Photosport

Football news website, www.Goal.com, citing multiple unnamed sources, has reported that the Rapids are poised to hire Hudson as the eighth full-time head coach in the team's history.

The report said it was unclear when Hudson would take over as Rapids coach, or if his appointment was contingent on New Zealand missing out on the World Cup.

Hudson is currently preparing the All Whites for a two-legged intercontinental playoff against Peru for a spot at Russia 2018, with the first leg set to take place on 11 November in Wellington before the two teams play the return leg in the South American nation on 15 November.

Hudson, 36, was born in the United States when his father, former Chelsea standout Alan Hudson, was playing for the Seattle Sounders in the old NASL.

The younger Hudson was raised in England and had a brief playing career there and in the Netherlands before joining the USL's Wilmington Hammerheads as a player-assistant coach in 2006.

His first head coaching job was at the Real Maryland Monarchs from 2008-2010 while they played in the USL Second Division. He also coached the Tottenham reserves, English fifth-tier club Newport County and the Bahrain national team before taking the reins with New Zealand in 2014.

The Rapids are coming off a 9-19-6 season that saw them finish 10th out of 11 teams in the Western Conference. They parted ways with club legend Pablo Mastroeni after three-and-a-half years on August 15.