Becoming a European champion with Arsenal in 2007 meant “the world” to Emma Hayes. “The medal hangs very proudly on that lovely light in my kitchen,” Hayes, who steps down as Chelsea manager at the end of this season to take over the US Women’s National Team (USWNT), said last October. “(The Champions League) isn’t missing from my cabinet, it’s very firmly there.
“I’ve got a gold one (from what was then known as the UEFA Women’s Cup, as Arsenal assistant first-team coach) and a silver one (from the 2020-21 Champions League, when her Chelsea side lost to Barcelona in the final). Would I like to do it as Chelsea manager? Of course I’d love to, but it isn’t missing from my life, that’s for sure.”
Yes, Hayes, 47, has conquered Europe once before but, under Arsenal manager Vic Akers in those days, she played a very different role to that of Chelsea’s assembler and leader over the past 12 years. Hayes, as expected, downplayed how much winning the Champions League would mean to her in that conversation six months ago, and did so again before Saturday’s semi-final second leg at home against Barcelona, describing it as “just another game”.
But it was anything but. It was a match into which Chelsea took a 1-0 advantage, were in front of the…
