Anthony Hudson’s new job is no longer a mystery.
The former USMNT coach — already holding the post on an interim basis — left his role at the end of May for an unspecified “new opportunity.” That gig turns out to be to take over as the head coach of Qatari club Al Markhiya, who announced the news on Tuesday.
“Our club officially contracted with the English coach, Anthony Patrick Hudson, to train the team for a period of two seasons,” read a club statement from Al Markhiya. “Our team had finished last season in seventh place, after presenting good levels immediately after its promotion to the first division, and seeks in the new season to appear at good levels and occupy a better position than the one it achieved last season.”
نادينا يتعاقد مع المدرب الانجليزي انتوني هيدسون لفترة موسمين#المرخية pic.twitter.com/IZlI3GceKM
— نادي المرخية الرياضي (@almarkhiyasc) June 6, 2023
The Doha-based club finished a middling seventh in the 2022-23 season, which concluded in March. While that is mid-table in the 12-team league, Al Markhiya finished eight points behind sixth-place Al Gharafa and only six points clear of the league’s relegation playoff.
Al Markhiya is not known as one of the Qatar Stars League’s biggest clubs, having been promoted up from the second division for this past season and playing their Qatar Stars League home games in a rotating series of venues around Doha. The club’s top players include Oman national team playmaker Jameel Al-Yahmadi and the gloriously named former Inter Milan youth prospect Zé Turbo. No current Qatar national team players are on Al Markhiya’s books at the present.
Hudson’s time running the USMNT was, through no real fault of his own, a strange journey. The team was in a holding pattern after Gregg Berhalter’s contract ran out, and while Hudson’s biggest games in charge were CONCACAF Nations League group stage wins over Grenada and El Salvador.
However, his brief tenure also saw numerous recruiting successes, including Folarin Balogun and Alex Zendejas both opting to represent the United States over other prominent options.
[lawrence-related id=20675,17917,13328]