Ray Hudson
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| Ray Hudson | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | March 24, 1955 | |
| Place of birth | Gateshead, England | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1973-1977 1977 1978-1983 1983-1984 1984 1984-1988 1988 1988-1991 |
Newcastle United → Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (loan) Ft. Lauderdale Strikers Union Solingen Minnesota Strikers Minnesota Strikers (indoor) Edmonton Brickmen Ft. Lauderdale Strikers |
40 (?) 25 (4) 172 (40) 10 (0) 21 (2) ? (?) ? (?) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 2000-2002 2002-2004 |
Miami Fusion DC United |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Ray Hudson (born March 24, 1955 in Gateshead, England), is a retired professional football player and former coach who currently works as an English-language football commentator on Gol TV.
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[edit] Career
Hudson signed with Newcastle United in 1973 at the age of 17, from local team Whickham Juniors. He made over 40 appearances for Newcastle and fans there nicknamed him "Rocky."[1] After four years in the Football League First Division, Hudson moved to the United States, playing for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 and was named an All-Star five times.[2] He played the winter season of 1983-84 in Germany with Union Solingen, making 10 appearances without scoring.[3] Hudson also played for the Strikers following their move to Minnesota in 1984, which proved to be the NASL's final year. During his stint there, Hudson scored 44 goals in 197 matches with 99 assists.[4]
He followed this with a season playing for Edmonton Brickmen before joining the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the American Soccer League. He continued to play for the Strikers through the 1991 season by which time the team was playing in the American Professional Soccer League.[2] He was released by the Strikers when the club was mired in a four-match scoreless streak to begin the season.
[edit] Coaching
After starting out as the Miami Fusion's community outreach director and TV commentator,[4] Hudson was named its head coach in the middle of the 2000 season, finishing the season with an 11-12-1 record.[2] He led the club to the best regular season record in Major League Soccer (the MLS Supporters' Shield, the equivalent of a league championship in European leagues) in 2001 with 16 wins, 5 losses and 5 draws.[1] However, the club was defeated by the San Jose Earthquakes in the semifinal round of the playoffs.[2]
Hudson quickly became known for his fiery personality. One memorable incident occurred after a Miami home win against the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The Fusion scored five goals, usually considered an excellent performance, but Hudson was apparently unsatisfied. He stormed into the media tent and up to the podium. He said, "I've got nothing to say. Any questions? ANY QUESTIONS? No? OK!" and stormed right back out. Interviews with players after the game indicated that Hudson was angered by a perceived lack of effort, even with the Fusion's dominant win.
Following MLS's contraction of the Fusion, Hudson was hired to replace Thomas Rongen as head coach of D.C. United on January 8, 2002.[2] He continued to regale fans and journalists with his wit, stories, and quotes. He once famously said, "There’s a lot of talent on this team, and I’m talking Anna Nicole Smith type of talent!" upon taking control of the team in 2002. He worked for ESPN's World Cup coverage in 2002, and came up with a memorable quote after the American team drew 1-1 with South Korea in group play. Expounding upon whether U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel should be thanking his defenders for their works, he said, "I'll be kissing their bums in the showers."
Despite his personality and love for the home fans, United finished at the bottom of the table in the East in 2002 with a record of 9-14-5,[1] and were ousted in the first round by Chicago Fire by a 4-0 aggregate score in the two-game series in 2003.[2] "Someone get me a blindfold and a cigarette!" he said during the post-game news conference. He was replaced by Peter Nowak in 2004. Hudson's cumulative record as an MLS head coach stands at 46-44-20.[2]
[edit] Commentating
Beginning with the 2004-2005 season, Hudson began TV commentating for GolTV. He is a co-commentator for European league matches and was a co-host of American Soccer until his final (to date) appearance on the show on August 29, 2007. During the 2006 World Cup, he was a co-host for the English-language segment of the nightly Gol TV En Alemania wrap-up show.
Hudson has begun to develop a cult following because of his commentating style, which consists of highly elaborate metaphors and excited, romanticized descriptions of players and goals. A weblog has been established to record Hudson's finest quotations[1] [2].
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Sweigard, Pete (May 5, 2003). "DC United's Ray Hudson". SportsFan Magazine. http://www.sportsfanmagazine.com/sfm/articles.html?id=21. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g "United Declines Hudson Option". mlsnet.com. December 1, 2003. http://www.usenet.com/newsgroups/rec.sport.soccer/msg17916.html. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
- ^ Ray Hudson - Fussballdaten - Die Fußball-Datenbank
- ^ a b Urban, Bill (March 20, 2007). "Whatever Happened To: Ray Hudson (Newcastle United)". Square Football. http://www.squarefootball.net/article/inbrief.asp?iid=2132. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
[edit] External links
- Washington Post interview
- Soccer Digest interview
- CNNSI.com profile
- EPL Talk Podcast interview
- EPL Talk Video Podcast interview
- Newcastle United Player Profile
- "Hudsonia" blog of all things Ray
- "New Hudsonia" blog of all things Ray
- "Shut Tha Windaz" blog with more Hudson quotes
- This Is American Soccer interview
- NASL/MISL stats
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