Jayne Ludlow

Jayne Louise Ludlow (born 7 January 1979) is a Welsh football coach and former player. A midfielder, Ludlow played at Arsenal for 13 years, whom she also captained and was the club's all-time top goalscorer when she retired. She represented the Wales national team from 1996 to 2012, and had been captain until her international retirement.

Ludlow later moved into management and led the Wales national team and its youth teams. Ludlow decided to focus on football, but had to travel to Barry Town to play since there were no girls' teams in the South Wales Valleys.

Club career Ludlow won a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, but left months into the four-year course due to dissatisfaction with the standard of football. In the 2005 off-season, she returned to the United States to play for New York Magic.

During Arsenal's 1–0 league win at Everton in April 2010, Ludlow was red carded for an "aggressive outburst" at opponent Fara Williams. This meant that club captain Ludlow was suspended for the 2010 FA Women's Cup final, in which Arsenal were beaten by Everton.

In July 2013, after a succession of injuries, Ludlow announced her retirement from playing, indicating a desire to focus on her role as an academy coach with Arsenal and Wales. Altogether with Arsenal, Ludlow won nine league titles, six FA Cups, and a UEFA Women's Cup. Ludlow is Arsenal's all-time highest goal scorer.

International career Ludlow won her first senior Wales cap at the age of 17, against the Republic of Ireland in February 1996.

In November 2010, she returned to the fold following the appointment of new coach Jarmo Matikainen. Ludlow then won her 50th cap, and scored her 18th goal, in captaining Wales to an 8–1 win over Bulgaria.

When Ludlow retired from international football in October 2012, she was described by Matikainen as "the most successful player that Wales has ever had".

Coaching career In August 2013, Ludlow accepted a position as manager and director of Reading, who had successfully bid for a place in the FA WSL 2. She stepped down from the role at the end of the 2014 FA WSL season, after being appointed manager of the Wales women's national football team on 2 October 2014. Ludlow was the technical director of Manchester City Girls' Academy from April 2021 to January 2024.

Playing style At first, Ludlow sought to mimic Pelé's playing style. She went on to model her game upon players such as Roy Keane to become a more orthodox midfielder. Ludlow has also often been compared with fellow Gunner Freddie Ljungberg, to her delight.

Personal life Ludlow is a supporter of Arsenal.

Ludlow married former Arsenal teammate Ciara Grant.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Arsenal UEFA Women's Cup: 2006–07 FA WSL: 2011, 2012 FA WSL Cup: 2011, 2012 FA Women's Cup: 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09

Individual FA Players' Player of the Year Award: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04