Hudson’s approach under the spotlight
ANTHONY Hudson’s football philosophy comes from a place of discomfort.
To the All Whites coach, there is nothing worse than sitting back and playing safe. His teams aren’t going to drop deep and put 10 or 11 men behind the ball, hoping to withstand a barrage of attacks. They’re going to push up and try to stop the opposition earlier by pressing them high.
‘‘I just don’t believe in that,’’ he says about defensive football. ‘‘I believe if you want to beat a team that’s bigger than you, you’ve got to stop them playing. You have to not allow them to do what they want to with the ball. I don’t feel comfortable dropping off, and I don’t think people want to see it.’’
Hudson took charge of the All Whites in August, 2014, and first coached them against Uzbekistan the following month, when he had to use a squad he didn’t select. Starting with their next assignment – friendlies against China and Thailand in November that year – they have played 17 matches, winning eight, drawing five and losing four.
As far as results go, they are acceptable enough. It includes winning the Oceania Nations Cup last year, a prize that eluded their grasp in the previous World Cup cycle, which has earned them a trip to the Confederations Cup, which begins next Sunday in Russia. It will be the biggest stage they have graced since 2010, when they went to the World Cup in South Africa.
With a big stage, however, comes a bright spotlight, and Hudson’s approach to the game is set to receive a thorough examination. For starters, it needs to be seen, because it wasn’t a year ago at the Nations Cup, when his team played reductive, hit-and-hope football, and were lucky to scrape past New Caledonia, in the semifinals, and Papua New Guinea, in the final, a match that went to penalties. Hudson had his reasons, and rehashing that debate now is pointless, especially because there have been improvements since.
The All Whites’ next outings, a 2-1 loss to Mexico and a 1-1 draw with the United States, were two of their best in recent times, with their pressing game on full display, and after a slight mis-step against New Caledonia in World Cup qualifying last November, they were in near-total control as they swept past Fiji and advanced to the next stage in March.
Three big factors at the Nations Cup were the hot conditions, the bits-and-pieces arrival of the squad, and a slate of injuries, but none will be present in Russia. It is colder, the squad will have had three weeks together in preparation, and while injured captain Winston Reid is a massive loss, he is the only one missing.
Over the next fortnight, the Kiwi football community will want to see the team they were promised. The one ‘‘that goes out to try and win games’’, as Hudson said when he first arrived, that ‘‘is organised, but with a real positive attitude, a team that plays football and tries to win the ball high up the pitch’’.
When the All Whites were last at the Confederations Cup, in 2009, they received a mention in Fifa’s technical report. ‘‘With the exception of Iraq and New Zealand, all of the teams tried to play attacking football,’’ is how it read.
Now, there is nothing wrong with defensive football. It’s what the All Whites played at the 2010 World Cup, for the most part, and it got results.
But it’s not the Hudson way.