Tag: Emma Hayes

Future USWNT boss Hayes won’t recruit Yohannes during Chelsea-Ajax tie

The 16-year-old midfielder is in high demand thanks to her emergence with Ajax

Emma Hayes has said she won’t try to sway Lily Yohannes toward the U.S. women’s national team when Chelsea meets Ajax in the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarterfinals.

Yohannes has won a starting role with Ajax at just 16 years old, marking herself as a potential future superstar for club and country.

Which country the midfielder represents, though, is an open question at this point. Yohannes was born in Virginia and moved to the Netherlands in 2017 at age 10. Though she is not yet a Dutch citizen, Netherlands manager Andries Jonker has claimed the teenager would like to play for the Dutch in the future.

That could be an alarming prospect for Hayes, who will finish out the current season as Chelsea head coach before taking over the USWNT in May.

Though Hayes was full of praise for Yohannes ahead of Tuesday’s quarterfinal first leg, the coach said she won’t use the meeting as a recruiting opportunity.

“There’s no denying Lily has tremendous talent, and to play for a top European team at the age of 16 in the center midfield position just shows how much faith the coaching team has in her,” Hayes said in a press conference.

“Her final pass is exceptional. She’s got the ability, especially in tight areas she can get out of pressure really well. But her vision, the quality of her execution is really, really high. Sometimes I don’t believe she’s 16 years of age because she plays with such maturity, but a wonderful talent.”

Asked if she would aim to convince the midfielder to pick the USWNT, Hayes responded: “No, absolutely not. I’m here for Chelsea and I don’t influence those things at this time. Whatever she decides in her future that’s for her and her family to decide.

“Tomorrow she’s on the other team and I’m more interested in how we’re going to stop her, to be honest.”

[lawrence-related id=41940,35557]

Hayes walks back ‘clickbait’ comments on teammates dating

The coach backtracked on comments saying that players dating was “inappropriate”

Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes has admitted she made a mistake when she said that teammates dating was “inappropriate.”

The incoming U.S. women’s national team coach was asked Thursday about Leicester City Women manager Willie Kirk, who is currently suspended amid an investigation into a reported relationship with one of his players.

Hayes responded by saying that not only is coaches dating players wrong, but also teammates dating one another.

“We have to have safeguarding, make sure that’s it’s accessible for each and every club to protect players,” Hayes said. “Player-coach relationships, they’re inappropriate, player-to-player relationships are inappropriate.”

Expanding on her reasoning, Hayes added: “One player’s in the team, one’s not in the team, one might be in the last year of their contract, one might not be. We all know, those of us that have been in the women’s game for a long period of time, those things have been happening in dressing rooms. Longer term, it would be ideal … where you don’t have to deal with that.”

After her side’s 3-1 win over Arsenal in the WSL on Friday, Hayes admitted she had made a mistake with her comments.

“I want to be clear to everybody in the room, I don’t want to create any more clickbait headlines for you guys. I think sometimes that becomes the case when we have honest conversations about things,” Hayes said at a press conference.

Chelsea defender Jess Carter is currently in a relationship with her teammate Ann-Katrin Berger, and liked a post on X saying that the comments from Hayes were “beyond bonkers.”

Amid a potentially awkward situation in her locker room, Hayes said she had spoken with Carter in the aftermath of her comments.

“Of course, I’m disappointed about that, of course Jess and I have had a conversation today as I have with other players in the team,” Hayes said.

“They know exactly who I am and what my intentions were. But I have to expect that — I’m supposed to be the most well-trained, non-clickbait coach and I let myself down yesterday. I didn’t think it was right for me to use the term ‘inappropriate’ for the players.

“I don’t take those things back, but I have zero criticism for any player in my dressing room for anything — their professionalism regardless of their status, regardless of who they are in a relationship. I’ve been unbelievably supportive of all of the players, I’ve been a champion for equality and equity.”

[lawrence-related id=53786,51412,46121]

Rapinoe backs Hayes to take her place as USWNT media spokesperson

“Alex and I are very talented with the media …. that’s sort of a tough act to follow”

Megan Rapinoe has backed incoming U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes to pick up the slack from her and Alex Morgan as the team’s main representative with the media.

Rapinoe took on the mantle as the USWNT’s de facto spokesperson prior to her retirement last year. Along with other stars like Alex Morgan, Rapinoe championed the team’s favored social causes, served as an advocate for the team during its lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, and also acted as a shield for its many critics.

Speaking to Sam Mewis on her podcast on The Women’s Game, Rapinoe said that Hayes could help ease the burden on a new generation of USWNT stars who may not be as keen to be in the media spotlight as their predecessors.

“I think she’s really talented at [dealing with the media],” Rapinoe said of Hayes, who will take over as USWNT head coach in May following the conclusion of Chelsea’s season.

“I don’t think we often think of interactions — whether it’s players or coaches — as an actual talent with the media. I think Emma is very talented. She’s charismatic, she speaks very well. She’s cheeky. She’s going to have a sense of humor in there. It seems like she handles herself really well in England, which is traditionally a very tough media.”

“I think the team has also come off a period that had me and Alex. I think Alex and I are very talented with the media. I really don’t want to toot my own horn here, but that’s sort of a tough act to follow when the media is maybe looking for someone just like that, and that’s not how all players are. And I feel like this might be a time to let the coach take some of the heat for all of this.”

Rapinoe added that she welcomed the increased media scrutiny the USWNT has been dealing with in recent years, saying that has to come with the territory in a growing women’s sports landscape.

“I always say if we are going to say we want the sport to grow, you have to take the smoke,” Rapinoe said. “And I think that Emma’s going to be really good at doing that. And I always say the media is not the enemy. I feel like you can always weaponize media and always use them to your advantage and I think she’s going to be really good at that. And I think it might take a little bit of the pressure off the players, so they can just go do their thing.”

[lawrence-related id=51412,46121,45236]

Chelsea boss Hayes brushes off links with USWNT job

The 46-year-old attempted to distance herself from speculation around the USWNT job

Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes has brushed off speculation linking her with the vacant U.S. women’s national team job, saying her only focus is on the Blues.

Hayes has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Vlatko Andonovski, who resigned this week after the USWNT crashed out of the World Cup in the last 16.

Hayes is one of the most successful women’s coaches in English history, having won 15 trophies with Chelsea including six Women’s Super League titles.

The 46-year-old also has familiarity with the U.S. after coaching the Chicago Red Stars from 2008 to 2010, when the team was a member of the WPS. She also served as technical director for the Western New York Flash.

But ahead of the new WSL season, Hayes attempted to distance herself from talk that she could be a candidate to replace Andonovski.

Speaking to reporters at the FIFA Women’s Football Convention in Sydney on Friday, Hayes was asked about the USWNT role.

“I’m very happy at Chelsea,” Hayes said. “I’ve made that clear. I’ve been there for 11 years, it’s my home. I think the U.S. has wonderful players and perhaps the tournament didn’t go the way they wanted but my focus is on getting home and preparing the team for the start of the season.”

Former assistant Twila Kilgore has stepped in as USWNT interim head coach, with U.S. Soccer conducting a search for Andonovski’s permanent replacement.

[lawrence-related id=26155,26126,24979]