Emma Hayes announced her shock departure from Chelsea in the same way she has spent much of the last 12 years. The news came at the end of a 6-0 victory over Aston Villa – she is not done sweeping aside the rest of the WSL just yet.
Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, when she will officially leave her post, her legacy is this – she is the league’s most influential and successful manager, she has built a dynasty not seen since the Arsenal of the late noughties (a time preceding the professionalisation of women’s football in this country), and her impact on the growth of the game has been immeasurable.
It is easy to reel off the trophies she has lifted – the six league titles, five FA Cups, two Conti Cups, a Spring Series and a Community Shield, and the personal accolades – the Fifa ‘Best’ award, MBE and OBE. Todd Boehly rightly called her a “pioneer” and while her hand was strengthened by significant backing from the owner’s predecessor, Roman Abramovich, Hayes’ methods are renowned.
Many of the structures which have helped Chelsea to thrive are down to the manager. They are at the forefront of nutrition and strength and conditioning. When she became a pundit at the men’s European Championship in 2020, she dazzled with her tactical insight.
The pitfall of that crossover was that a higher profile suddenly brought links to the men’s game, which she took as an insult. “I just don’t know why anyone would ever think that women’s football is a step down,” she spat after reports suggested she was on an AFC Wimbledon shortlist.
It has been vital for the women’s game that Hayes chose to stay – she is uniquely placed to coach women, leading calls for research into ACL injuries (3x more likely to affect female footballers than their male counterparts) and speaking publicly and perceptively on fat-shaming and the impact of menstrual cycles on players.
When male coaches join Chelsea Women, it is understood they are required to spend weeks learning about female physiology before they can take part in training sessions.
There is no one better to lead the USA back to their past glories. Chelsea hinted at the role in their farewell statement, confirming Hayes would be taking an “opportunity outside the WSL and club football”.
The USWNT job has been vacant since Vlatko Andonovski was sacked after failing to lead the defending champions past the World Cup round of 16 and the role calls for a coach who can cope with its immense expectation and reinvent a side losing its stars – not least Megan Rapinoe, the face of their 2015 and 2019 triumphs.
From Eni Aluko and Karen Carney to Magda Eriksson and Pernille Harder, Hayes has never shied away from rebuilding after losing key faces from the dressing room.
Her history in the USA made her a leading candidate, though OL Reign boss Laura Harvey was initially thought to be the frontrunner. Hayes began her managerial career with Long Island Lady Riders, spent three years with Iona Gaels in New York before her reputation rocketed as coach and director of football at Chicago Red Stars.
International management will also be easier to accommodate with family life. After beating Manchester United in May’s FA Cup final in May, she spoke of having “no work-life balance”. Despite her success, the job is emotionally exhausting – in October, she shed tears on the pitch as players presented her with a shirt bearing the name “Papa” following the death of her father.
The first time I met Hayes, she had to keep breaking off to FaceTime her young son, before hanging up the phone and returning to her brilliantly straight-talking, often foul-mouthed vernacular.
She is also powerfully convincing; I once asked her about Chelsea’s decision to raise ticket prices and she spoke in depth on the club’s resources, the necessary inflation to match a growing audience, and the opportunity to watch the world’s best players. By the end of it, she had completely changed my mind.
The WSL will enjoy her while it still can – and there is one elusive trophy left to win.
Chelsea’s Champions League campaign begins on 15 November against Real Madrid and after suffering heartbreak in the 2021 final, her last group of players would love nothing more than to send her out in a blaze of glory.
Lluis Cortes, the former Barcelona manager who inflicted that famous defeat in Gothenburg, is an obvious candidate to succeed her.
Chelsea have months to find a successor and while Hayes’ assistant, Denise Reddy, is expected to go with her, Cortes is available having recently left his role with Ukraine after the nation was forced to withdraw its Euro 2025 bid due to Russia’s invasion.
There is the possibility that a rival WSL coach catches their eye between now and May, while Casey Stoney, the former Manchester United manager currently in charge of San Diego Wave, could also be in the running.
Hayes will be confident that she has left enough behind for her successor to keep dominating year after year. Whoever that is will have some mightily big shoes to fill.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/ItVkUol
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