Emma Hayes did not hide her excitement when Chelsea Women secured tickets to the 2020/21 Champions League final. After the semi-final of the second leg against Bayern Munich Frauen, while sipping champagne, Hayes answered reporters’ questions. He also shows his heart rate monitor during the match. The line showing the speed of the heart rate jumps dramatically at any given moment.
“I really want this day. I need to do whatever it takes to control my emotions. I could barely contain the tears, “he said. The 44-year-old manager has just witnessed critical moments in a tense party. Playing the second leg at Kingsmeadow – the headquarters of the Chelsea women’s team – the Blues had to overcome a 2-1 defeat in the first leg. In the first half, they managed to equalize the aggregate.
However, Bayern appeared to be pressing in the second half. A number of mistakes made by the Blues players also made the match even more worrying for the hosts. Chelsea could only breathe a sigh of relief in 84 minutes. Pernille Harder, the most expensive female footballer in history, scored a goal with a hard header from the near post – similar to Didier Drogba’s goal in the 2012 Champions League final, also against Bayern. During injury time, Chelsea confirmed the final ticket after Fran Kirby added a goal. Score 4-1 for Chelsea.
Chelsea Women qualified for the first Champions League final in history. For Emma Hayes, this is also her first final as a manager. And what’s more special: she became the first female manager to qualify for a UEFA Women’s Champions League final in 12 years, since the competition was rebranded from the original UEFA Women’s Cup.
The first UEFA Women’s Cup rolled out in 2001, changed its name to UWCL in 2009. Throughout its history, only two female coaches have won this competition. The two coaches won during the Women’s Cup era, namely Monika Staab with 1. FFC Frankfurt (2002) and Martina Voss with FCR Duisburg (2009).
Even in women’s football, the position of head coach is predominantly male. At UWCL, most of the teams are headed by male coaches, including Chelsea’s opponent in the final, FC Barcelona Femeni. Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, UWCL’s most successful club with seven trophies, including the last five seasons, won all titles with a male coach. Les Lyonnaises only appointed their first female head coach in April. They appointed Sonia Bompastor, former captain of the French national team, to replace Jean-Luc Vasseur after Lyon were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the UWCL quarter-finals.
In Europe, the participation of female trainers is still minimal. According to a 2016/17 UEFA report, 91% of coaching positions in women’s football are filled by men. In some countries, the ratio of male to female trainers is even 99: 1 and 98: 2.
The number of female trainers is small. However, the number is increasing from year to year. As the investment and prestige of women’s football has increased, women’s participation in it has also increased. In the UK’s Women’s Super League (WSL) 2020/21, the number of female coaches has even outnumbered men. Among those few, Emma Hayes stands out as a prominent figure. He is the most successful manager in Chelsea history, winning 10 trophies since taking office in 2012. Hayes’ squad won the WSL four times, including the last two seasons.
Hayes managed to build a formidable squad that dominated Britain. This time, he wanted to expand his dominance to Europe, where England always lost to France represented by Lyon and Germany represented by VfL Wolfsburg. Hayes is a coach who is good at nurturing his foster children. As a manager, he was able to grow his squad’s winning mentality through training in the dressing room and training sessions.
The former Arsenal Women assistant is also known for his attention to the players. Like mom, Hayes helps players overcome personal problems to achieve their best, both in life and in football. Fran Kirby is one of those players who will never forget Hayes’ services. In 2019, he suffered from pericarditis (inflammation of the heart sac) which made him consider retirement. However, Hayes did not want the player to suffer and gave him extraordinary support.
“Emma is wonderful. He is my stronghold; someone who makes sure I’m protected from anything. I didn’t know about the disease, but he was with me and always asked the doctor, “Can we try this, can we try that?” It means a lot, “Kirby told The Guardian.
The England striker finally recovered and returned to grazing. More than that, Kirby managed to become Chelsea’s all-time top scorer. In 2020/21, he was instrumental in the Blues’ success, scoring 16 goals and 11 assists to help Chelsea win the WSL.
Emma Hayes is also an innovative manager. She led Chelsea to become the first club to adapt training to players’ menstrual cycles. It also has a unique way of dealing with the mental problems of the players. Eniola Aluko, a former Chelsea striker, revealed that Hayes has tons of creative ideas to improve team performance. At that time, Chelsea had difficulty beating Arsenal and the manager felt his team had psychological problems facing their rivals. In the training session, he also told the players to practice sparring with a team wearing red clothes.
“So, visually, we trained on ‘how to beat Arsenal’. He is very creative in what he talks about, ”Aluko told The Athletic. His managerial quality has even made Hayes rumored to be one of the candidates to replace Frank Lampard. The post of Chelsea men’s team manager was finally taken by Thomas Tuchel. However, the inclusion of Hayes’ name in the discussion of changing coaches shows recognition of the capacity of the London manager.
This season, she has the opportunity to win a double, an achievement for an English club that Arsenal have only ever achieved in 2007. It will be interesting to see how they end this season.
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