Hayes became an icon of English women’s football at Chelsea: ‘An absolute showcase’

NOS Football•today, 1:04 PM

As Chelsea coach, Emma Hayes is one of the great driving forces behind all of English women’s football. At the end of this season she will leave the London club and become national coach of the United States. With Chelsea she won everything there was to win, except the Champions League.

After the 3-0 win over Ajax in the Johan Cruijff Arena, Hayes and her team have one leg in the semi-finals. If nothing crazy happens in tonight’s return match, she will keep an eye on that one prize that is still missing from her list of achievements.

How important is that to her? “Winning the Champions League would be incredibly nice. Yet I think it is more important that after the time I have spent here, I can conclude that the club has grown. I want to come back as a supporter in a while and be proud of what I see “I hope we have achieved something that will allow us to continue to win prizes years later.”

Hayes does not have to worry about her legacy at Chelsea and in English football. She is considered a pioneer who invested in the sport long before serious money was poured into British women’s football.

Before becoming Chelsea manager in 2012, she worked as a club coach in the US and as a trainer and assistant at Arsenal. In West London she transformed The Blues from a club in its infancy to one of the very best teams in the world. She won the national title six times and the FA Cup five times. In 2021, Chelsea reached the Champions League final, in which FC Barcelona was too strong.

“Hayes is an absolute poster child for English women’s football,” says English football journalist Conor Wilson, who follows Chelsea closely for a local website. “What Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola are to men’s football here, they are to English women’s football.”

Chelsea coach Hayes also watches after 3-0 win for Ajax: ‘Nobody underestimates this’

A large part of the current generation of top football players in England grew up under her wing. She builds close relationships with her players.

When Millie Bright walked off the field after the lost 2023 World Cup final and saw her club coach Hayes, she hugged her neck. According to Bright, few in football had such a keen eye for the mental state of players.

This was also evident from the words of Chelsea player Erin Cuthbert, who sat next to Hayes at the press conference before the match against Ajax. “She knows how to excite me, then she provokes me for a moment. Emma can unleash the animal in me.”

Wilson is confident that Hayes will also coach Team USA will succeed. “They can be very grateful that they were able to pry her away. She has a great vision for the game and is now at her peak.”

Wilson also believes that Hayes has already made her mark at Chelsea – even without the Champions League on her list of honors. “But I am convinced that she really wants to win it. If she were to say goodbye without winning that prize, it would sting her a little bit. They will certainly not underestimate Ajax tonight.”