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.

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.L.A. Blues sign Mexican GK, former Galaxy MF
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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, a youth soccer club based in the Newburgh suburb of Evansville. He served as the director of boys' coaching at the club until its dissolution in 2019.

Other ventures

In 2015, Tudela Family LLC purchased the historic Washington Hotel building in downtown Evansville at the intersection of Main and Third Street. They renovated and opened it as the restaurant Comfort by the Cross Eyed Cricket in 2017.

Honors

Indiana University

*NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship (2): 2003, 2004

References

External links

LA Galaxy player profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tudela, Josh
1984 births
Living people
Soccer players from Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players
American soccer players
Major League Soccer players
LA Galaxy players
Orange County SC players
Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana
West Michigan Edge players
Fort Wayne Fever players
Kalamazoo Kingdom players
California Victory players
USL First Division players
USL League Two players
USL Championship players
LA Galaxy draft picks
Association football midfielders