U.S. Soccer names former Rapids boss Hudson as new U-20 coach

U.S. Soccer announced on Wednesday that former Colorado Rapids boss Anthony Hudson has been hired as the new U.S. U-20 men's national team coach. 

Hudson takes over the U-20 team following a difficult stint in MLS, as his Rapids amassed just an 8-26-9 record before the coach was dismissed by the club this past May after less than two seasons with the club.

Prior to his coaching tenure in the U.S., Hudson took charge of the New Zealand and Bahrain national teams, reaching the inter-confederation playoffs for the 2018 World Cup with the former before falling to Peru, as well as Tottenham's reserve side and English Conference Premier club Newport County.

Born in Seattle, Hudson came through West Ham's academy and featured for Luton Town, NEC Nijmegen and the Wilmington Hammerheads during his playing career.

"I’m very proud to be joining U.S. Soccer,” Hudson said. “It’s a really exciting time with the game's rapid growth in this country and especially with so many talented young players coming through the ranks. I can’t wait to work with them and help develop these players into contributors at the highest level."

Hudson replaces Tab Ramos, who departed U.S. Soccer to take over as head coach of the Houston Dynamo. During his tenure as U-20 boss, Ramos ushered in a period of success for the U.S. program, reaching three consecutive quarterfinal appearances in World Cups.

Ramos' departure was not the only one to hit U.S. Soccer this winter as U-17 boss Raphael Wicky also departed the program to take over as head coach of the Chicago Fire. With Hudson joining U-23 boss Jason Kreis, the U.S. still has vacancies at the U-19, U-18, U-17 and U-16 levels.

With the new role, Hudson will manage all aspects of the U-20 program while also managing the integration and programming of U-18 and U-19 teams.

“We’re excited to bring Anthony on board to lead our U-20 Men’s National Team as it prepares for this summer’s Concacaf Championship,” said Earnie Stewart, U.S. Soccer Sporting Director. “We’ve enjoyed great success with the U-20s over the last few cycles and the team has been instrumental in advancing players to our senior Men’s National Team. We believe that Anthony’s experience in the international game and at the club level make him a great choice to continue that success.”

The former Rapids coach will take charge of his first U.S. U-20 camp this week as the U.S. looks ahead to the Concacaf U-20 Championship, where the team will face Costa Rica, Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis in the group stages. The U.S. will take on Mexico in a pair of friendlies on January 16 and 18 in Hudson's first matches in the role.

A 24-player squad has been called in to camp for those matches, headlined by the likes of Sporting KC standout Gianluca Busio, Rapids midfielder Cole Bassett and recent Houston Dynamo signing Marcelo Palomino.

Here's a closer look at the full squad:

GOALKEEPERS: David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City), John Pulskamp (Sporting Kansas City), Patrick Schulte (St. Louis University)

DEFENDERS: Jacob Akanyirige (San Jose Earthquakes), Nico Benalcazar (Wake Forest), Kevin Bonilla (FC Dallas), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), Ian Hoffmann (Karlsruher), Blake Malone (North Carolina), Kurowskybob Pierre (Real Salt Lake), Andre Reynolds II (Chicago Fire FC), Stuart Ritchie (Hannover 96), Leonardo Sepulveda (Salamanca)

MIDFIELDERS: Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids), Leon Flach (St. Pauli), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew), Marcelo Palomino (Houston Dynamo), Thomas Roberts (FC Dallas)

FORWARDS: Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City), Cameron Harper (Celtic), Matko Miljevic (Argentinos Juniors), Dante Sealy (FC Dallas), Marlon Vargas (Seattle Sounders FC)