U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes acknowledged the imperfections of individual accolades in team sports after winning the Women’s Johan Cruyff Award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, especially considering the glaring inequities that continue to exist in soccer.
Hayes won the coaching award on Monday for her accomplishments over the last year with both Chelsea and the USWNT. She wrapped up her 12-year spell with Chelsea by winning the Women’s Super League title in May and followed it up by winning Olympic gold with the U.S. less than three months later, though she opted to thank her players and staff rather than herself.
“I think you ask any coach this question and more often than not, they would say the same things,” Hayes said in a press conference on Tuesday ahead of the USWNT’s friendly against Argentina. “The thing we love the most is being part of a team so the individual honors piece, for me, is the least interesting part of it. I love the team awards and winning gold medals or winning WSL championships, for me, is what gives me great satisfaction. However, we are only as good as our players and I’ve been fortunate enough to coach some wonderful players both at Chelsea and here with the…
