Josh Tudela

An upcoming star in central midfield, Josh Tudela is back for his second season in MLS with the Galaxy. A 2-time College Cup winner with Indiana, Tudela broke into the Galaxy’s first team late last season, starting each of the Galaxy’s last 8 games of the season and helping the club to a 5-1-2 record in those matches. A traditional box-to-box midfielder, the 24-year-old is skillful on the ball and an excellent passer, but he is also tough and not willing to back down from a challenge. He will look to build on his late season success and get his name back on Ruud Gullit’s team sheet, game in and game out.

MLS Experience

2007: Tudela appeared in 9 regular season games, one Open Cup match and 7 Reserve Division games with the Galaxy during his rookie season. He made his MLS debut on August 26 at Colorado, playing all 90 minutes in central midfield. He returned to the lineup for the 2-2 draw at Real Salt Lake on September 19, and was in Frank Yallop’s starting XI for the rest of the season, as LA closed the year with a 5-1-2 record of their final 8 games. Tudela claimed the first assist of his career on Chris Klein’s game-winning goal in the 2-1 win over FC Dallas on September 23. After appearing as a substitute in the 1-0 loss to Rangers, Tudela made his first start for the Galaxy in the Open Cup defeat to Richmond on July 10. He also appeared in and started 7 Reserve Division games.

USL Highlights

2007: Tudela spent 3 weeks on loan with the California Victory of the USL First Division, appearing in 5 games and making 4 starts between July 20 and August 3.

College Highlights

Tudela played 4 years under Jerry Yeagley and Mike Freitag at Indiana University, collecting a pair of National Championships in 2003 and 2004. As a freshman in 2003, Tudela was named to the College Cup All-Tournament team as he tallied one goal and 2 assists while helping lead IU to the championship. The 2006 Big Ten Player of the Year and a member of the NSCAA All-American Third Team as a senior, Tudela appeared in 90 games during his 4 years with the Hoosiers, scoring 11 goals and adding 17 assists. He had his best season as a junior in 2005, tallying 7 goals and 5 assists to earn Second Team All-Big Ten honors.

Personal

Tudela played one year of college soccer at Indiana with his brother Jacob. He finished his high school career with 80 goals and 62 assists, including 31 goals and 14 assists as a senior at North High School. Josh placed second at the USA Cup Juggling Contest in Blaine, Minnesota, juggling the ball for more than 40 consecutive minutes. His father, Fernando, played college soccer at the University of Indiana.

Acquired

Selected by the Galaxy in the second round (20th overall) of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft.