Midway through a chat with her men’s counterpart at Chelsea, Emma Hayes awkwardly had to explain to Mauricio Pochettino that someone more important was ringing her.
It was Sir Alex Ferguson, who had heard about her decision to leave Chelsea and become the new U.S. women’s national team manager. Pochettino understood his place in the hierarchy, and Hayes picked up.
“He calls me from time to time, so I wasn’t surprised,” explained Hayes, whose first games in charge of USWNT will come in friendlies against South Korea on June 1 and June 4. “Anything he says to me I always take with such pride. He is a legend of the game and someone whose opinion I value and he has a love of America. We talked a little bit about that, a little bit about legacy, a little bit about leaving at the top. So there were wise words from him. I’m sure it won’t be the last phone call I get from him this season.”
Hayes’ managerial influences are widespread. Given the lack of investment in sports science focused on women’s football, she’s often had to look to other sports for inspiration to understand how to evolve and improve the women’s game. But perhaps her chief influence is Ferguson. This, in itself, shouldn’t come as a great surprise, considering Ferguson is the most successful…
