Emma Hayes has described her journey from guiding Chelsea to the Women’s Super League title in May to standing on the brink of Olympic glory with the United States less than three months later as a “whirlwind”.
Hayes, 47, has not even had time to unpack her old locker from Chelsea as she prepares to lead out the four-time Olympic champions for Saturday’s final against Brazil at the Parc des Princes, looking to regain the title they last won at London 2012.
“I might make a trivial pursuit question one day!” Hayes said. “Going from my beloved Chelsea to the United States women’s national team, what a whirlwind, what a dream all at once.
“To finish my time at Chelsea with another WSL title and then be here competing for gold, honestly this is the stuff dreams are made of.”
The US came through the group stages with a perfect record but had to dig deep to beat Japan and Germany in the knock-out stages.
The American players have spoken of their English coach as a breath of fresh air.
They may not understand all of their Londoner’s jokes but they have embraced her move to ensure there is plenty of room for fun as well as hard work.
Central to that is the karaoke machine, with Hayes saying her go-to song was Vanilla Ice’s ‘Ice Ice Baby’.
Saturday’s match will be just her 10th in charge since she took over in June. She inherited a team still trying to rebuild its identity after last summer’s dismal showing at the World Cup, but her impact has been almost instantaneous.
“I don’t think like that,” Hayes said, when asked if she was ahead of schedule in the job. “I only every think about things within my control. I knew we didn’t have time to waste. We had to deliver in a concise way the methodology, the principles, all of that stuff, in an almost perfect way.
“Sometimes you can have too much time. I’ve learned in my career you only have the present. I don’t want to talk about the past or the future. We’re in the position we’re in because we’ve managed to stay in the present.”
The United States will come up against a Brazil side led by six-time women’s world player of the year Marta, the 38-year-old who is playing in her final major tournament.
Marta was sent off in Brazil’s final group game against Spain but will return after her team stayed in the competition long enough for her to serve a two-match ban and return.
“When I was a young coach assisting Vic Akers at Arsenal we played a Women’s Cup two-legged final against Umea, the Swedish champions, and they had a young Marta,” Hayes recalled of Arsenal’s 1-0 aggregate win in 2007.
“I remember being on the touchline thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, who is this extraordinary player?’ To witness what she’s done on the pitch, I think she’s been more than a role model and icon, she’s been the best player.
“What she’s done for Brazil or the generation coming through, she’s been an inspiration.”
