Women’s Olympic soccer starts today. shows live the matches Spain-Japan at 17:59 and Germany-Australia at 20:00.
Emma Hayes, 47, started his job as the head coach of the United States women’s national soccer team this summer with a bang. He dropped one of the sport’s biggest figures, a 34-year-old, from the team heading to the Paris Olympics by Alex Morgan.
The fish bowl was ready. Criticism rained down, fans were furious and the British coach’s decision was questioned. Hayes was not startled by this. He proved to be a coach who has authority and knows how to be strict when needed.
Hayes also had a good reason for not choosing Morgan. He made room for younger players in his team, because he wants to invest in players who can play in several different positions.
– Alex has been an absolutely important player for this team for years. Leaving him out was an incredibly difficult decision. The versatility of the team was a key part of this decision. It’s not about Alex. It’s about the needs of the team. And that was the core of my thinking, Hayes reasoned In an interview with Time.
In Hayes’ world of thought, everything always starts with the team. Sports expert Hanna Ruohomaa says that he appreciates Hayes because he doesn’t bend under pressure.
– Emma Hayes can be really harsh and strict. He makes decisions with the best of the team in mind, but at the same time he is also very approachable. It is a very rare combination, Ruohomaa stated.
At the Olympics, there is tension as to whether Hayes’ methods will turn the tide for the US national soccer team.
A large ship to turn
The United States has dominated women’s soccer for decades. In recent years, however, the pace has changed. In the Tokyo Olympics, the loss to Sweden ended the team’s 44-match unbeaten streak, and in the semi-finals the team lost to Canada.
In the 2023 World Cup, Sweden was once again in the thick of things, as it knocked out the United States after a penalty shootout already in the quarterfinals. It was the first time the United States did not finish in the top three at the World Championships. In August of the same year, the country fell in the ranking to the lowest level it has ever been, third. That was enough To Vlatko Andonovskiwho resigned as head coach.
Emma Hayes was chosen to replace her. The woman who built Chelsea into a dynasty. When Hayes took over Chelsea in 2012, the activities at the club were completely amateurish on the women’s side. Hayes made it look professional. Nothing was so small to him that he didn’t intervene and make it better.
Chelsea won 14 titles under Hayes’ coaching – five in a row and a total of seven WSL titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups.
– It is difficult to get a huge ship like the United States to quickly turn around, but I believe that Hayes is the right person to at least start turning its course, Ruohomaa said.
The spy became a top coach
Football has been a part of Hayes’ life since childhood. He played passionately until the age of 17 and was the star player of his team. However, Hayes, who had just entered Arsenal’s academy, badly injured his ankle skiing and the doctor forbade him from kicking the ball.
Hayes focused his energy on, among other things, studying sociology and international affairs, and his goal was to become a spy.
– He can tell if you are lying. He learned all these tricks. When they started teaching how to kill people, it was time to go, Hayes Sid– father once said In an interview with the Guardian.
Ruohomaa believes that thanks to his studies, Hayes can withstand pressure well and is not afraid of conflicts. He is also a good connoisseur of people and also spends a lot of time talking to the players.
Hayes started coaching during his student days in Liverpool. And not just football, but all sports. However, soccer attracted the most, as did the United States. At the age of 25, Hayes traveled to the United States, Long Island, with only a one-way ticket and a thousand dollars. The following year, he became the youngest head coach in the American W-League, the Long Island Lady Riders.
In the United States, Hayes learned how to assemble teams and how to recruit players, especially when the budget is close to zero. He emphasized good personalities that he can trust and who will fight for him.
During his time with Chicago Red Star, Hayes proved that he knew how to recruit better than others. His dreams include swimming for the English national team Karen Carney and the future star player of the United States Megan Rapinoe.
However, Hayes was fired in 2010. However, he did not give up, but took it as a lesson for the future. Like his father’s teachings, he did not see failure as failure but as the first attempt to learn.
Strong critic and supporter
One of the most important people in Hayes’ career is his late father Sid Hayes. This was a pioneer of women’s football, a father figure to hundreds of girl footballers who played in London’s Camden. At one time, he was building an Arsenal women’s team that dominated the sport. He also demanded a lot from his daughters.
– She always told me ‘you change what the women’s game looks like’. But remember to go all out. He gave me the confidence to take risks. She always wanted to do something for others and teach others – whether it was training or menstruation. ‘Teach the world,’ he often said, Hayes said For the Camden New Journal after his father passed away last year at the age of 82 from lung cancer.
Father was also Hayes’ biggest critic. He never rewarded Hayes with a “well done” statement, instead stating, “Now you’ve done it, what’s next?”
The family has always been close to Hayes, and he has always been able to count on their support. In 2018, she needed support more than ever, because she lost one of her twins at the 28th week of pregnancy.
The family hoped that Hayes would have slowed down after this, but there was no stopping him.
In the last match of the season, Hayes was very pregnant, even though the doctors had advised her to miss the match.
– It’s about the team, he would do anything to win, his sisters said.
Sources: Guardian, USA Today, Time, Camden New Journal, BBC
Paris Olympics on channels 26.7.–11.8. Go to the competition website here. You can find the entire program of the games here.