 |
| AFP Yonhap News |
|
The Thai Football Association appointed Anthony Hudson (44), former coach of Patum United from England, to replace Masatada Ishii (58), former coach of the Thai national soccer team, who was dismissed on the 21st.
Multiple media outlets, including Thailand 'Nation Thailand' and the United States 'ESPN', reported on the 22nd (local time) that Nualpan Ramsam, president of the Thai Football Association, affectionately known as Madame Pang, announced the appointment of Hudson as the new coach in an official statement. It seems that only the association-level announcement is left.
Chairman Ramsam said in the statement, "As if aware of the controversial replacement process of former coach Ishii, national soccer is not a laboratory, and the change of coach is a natural phenomenon. We needed a leader who deeply understood Thai soccer at this critical time." "Coach Hudson has worked together at all levels of the association and has a wealth of international experience." Former head coach Ishii expressed his anger after a meeting with an association official in the morning of the 21st, saying that the announcement of the dismissal was made without any consultation in the afternoon. The association reportedly paid half of the remaining salary to former coach Ishii.
Hudson served as the technical development director of the Thai Football Association in June and has been deeply involved in Thai soccer in recent years, including establishing a youth development system, analyzing player statistics, and establishing training guidelines for the national and age-specific national teams. He also led Thailand's first division, Patum United, from February to April this year. He retired in the middle of the season and entered the association with seven wins, three draws and two losses.
Hudson, a former English Premier League club West Ham United Youth, led the Tottenham Hotspur reserve team for a year in 2010 before serving as the coach of the Bahrain national team after retirement. Harry Redknapp was Tottenham's first-team coach at the time. Since then, he has gained leadership experience in various countries around the world, including Bahrain, New Zealand, Colorado Rappies, the U.S. U-20, the U.S. national soccer team (senior coach), Al Marquilla, and Al Arabi.
Indonesian media 'CNN' borrowed some Thai media reports earlier that Thailand's seven candidates for the next head coach included former Ulsan coach Shin Tae-yong and former Vietnamese national team coach Park Hang-seo. However, according to an official familiar with the situation in Thailand on the 23rd, Chairman Ramsam initially had Hudson as his top priority without paying much attention to the Korean leader.
Thailand, which has ruled as the strongest team in Southeast Asia, failed to defend the AFF title in 2024 and also missed this year's King's Cup. The slump continued, with the advance to the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup also failing. The 1-3 loss to Turkmenistan in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying round was a direct blow to former coach Ishii's position.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
