Josh Tudela
Joshua Tudela (born March 13, 1984) is a former professional soccer player and manager. He is also the founder and owner of Comfort by the Cross-Eyed Cricket located in downtown Evansville, Indiana.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joshua Tudela | ||
| Date of birth | March 13, 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Evansville, Indiana, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ? | Evansville Flame | ||
| ? | North Huskies | ||
| 2002–2006 | Indiana Hoosiers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003 | West Michigan Edge | 4 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Fort Wayne Fever | 24 | (8) |
| 2006 | Kalamazoo Kingdom | 6 | (3) |
| 2007–2009 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 23 | (0) |
| 2007 | → California Victory (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Doxa Italia | 2 | (0) |
| 2011 | Los Angeles Blues | 19 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2008–2010 | Tudela Soccer Academy | ||
| 2011–2012 | Beach Futbol Club | ||
| 2012–2014 | VCU Rams (assistant coach) | ||
| 2014–2019 | Tudela Futbol Club | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Life and career
Early life and youth career
Tudela was born in Evansville, Indiana. He began his playing career with the Evansville Flame under the administration of his father Fernando and Pedro Millan. Tudela attended North High School played with on the North Huskies high school soccer team. He was named MVP, Best Offensive Player and Most Dedicated Player on his high school team as a junior and senior. Tudela led the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference in scoring as a senior, scoring 31 goals and 14 assists, and finished his high school career with 80 goals and 62 assists.
In 2003, Tudela made his college debut for the Indiana Hoosiers, appearing in 22 matches while making 15 starts. He was named to the College Cup All-Tournament team as Indiana won the 2003 NCAA Championship, and finished the season with one goal and five assists. In 2004, he played in and started all 24 games for Indiana as the Hoosiers won their second consecutive national championship. He was fourth on the team with five assists, three of which came on game-winning goals. He scored his only goal of the year in the NCAA Tournament Third Round victory over the Boston Eagles.
In 2005, he earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors after finishing the year with seven goals and five assists. He had his first career multi-goal game in a 2–0 win over the Louisville Cardinals and was joined on at IU by his brother Jacob who was a redshirt freshman in 2005. In 2006, he was named Big Ten Player of the Year and to the NSCAA All-American Third Team after scoring three goals and adding two assists in 22 games. He started all 22 of IU's contests and was one of the team's captains. He finished his career with 11 goals and 17 assists while helping the Hoosiers reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament all four years.
Professional career
During his college years, Tudela also played with West Michigan Edge, Fort Wayne Fever and Kalamazoo Kingdom in the Premier Development League.
Tudela was the Galaxy's second selection in the second round (20th overall) of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. After initially not featuring for the club, Tudela would end the season appearing in nine matches, all starts during his rookie campaign. He spent three weeks on loan with the California Victory of the United Soccer League. In the 2008 preseason, Tudela scored his first goal in a Galaxy uniform during the Pan-Pacific Championship against Sydney FC in Hawaii. The regular season saw him compete in six games with three starts and an assist. After making eight starts in 2009, Tudela was waived by Los Angeles on July 1 to make roster space for Alecko Eskandarian.
After a brief stint with LA-based side Doxa Italia, Tudela traveled to Romania for a trial with former European champions Steaua Bucharest in January 2010. However, Steaua decided not to offer him a contract. On February 17, 2010, he started a trial with Polish team Cracovia but again was not offered a contract.
In December 2010, Tudela signed with the expansion Los Angeles Blues of USL Pro for the 2011 season.[1]
Managerial career
Tudela was recruited, in 2011, as head coach of the Long Beach-based Beach FC in the Southern California Developmental Soccer League. He claimed co-ownership of Tudela Soccer Academy, a soccer academy ran by his older brother Jeremy Tudela, in Newburgh, Indiana. In January 2012, Tudela was recruited as assistant coach of the VCU Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.
In 2014, Tudela returned to his hometown of Evansville to help found Tudela Futbol Club, an advanced soccer club based in the Newburgh suburb of Evansville. He currently serves as the director of boys' coaching at the club.