When Emma Hayes was announced as the soon-to-be new head coach of the United States women’s national team, her words were littered with mentions of the connection she has with the country that she wasn’t born in, but that she was made in. After all, this will actually be her seventh job in the U.S., the most significant of the six previous coming when she was manager of the Chicago Red Stars some 16 years ago.
Hayes had a team littered with stars when she was in the role. She managed no fewer than five players who would win the World Cup with the USWNT: Carli Lloyd, Jessica McDonald, Kate Markgraf, Whitney Engen and Megan Rapinoe, the latter of whom she actually drafted out of college. There were international stars on the roster, too, including Brazil icons Formiga and Cristiane, England playmaker Karen Carney, Sweden’s Kosovare Asllani and Australia goalkeeper Lydia Williams.
But this isn’t the story of a 31-year-old coaching prodigy shocking everyone with innovative tactics, storming to titles and announcing herself to the world as one to watch. No, this is a story that ends with the future USWNT head coach being sacked in a Starbucks.
However, it’s a story integral to Hayes’ rise, and a big reason why she has gone on to become the coach she is today, one with 14 major titles under her belt who is about to take on the biggest job in women’s soccer…