'Welcome Back, Emma': A happy, healthy Hayes is ready for Wembley return

LONDON, England -- United States women's national team head coach Emma Hayes is back in London for her first match on English soil since her departure from Chelsea this summer. After 12 glittering years at the club, during which time she cemented her reputation as one of the best women managers ever, she took on a new challenge this summer and now appears rejuvenated and reinvigorated -- a stark contrast to the fatigued figure who bade farewell to the Blues after securing her fifth consecutive Women's Super League (WSL) title.

"I definitely didn't feel healthy at the end; I felt quite unwell at the end of my time at Chelsea," she said Monday during a news conference held at the iconic Camden music venue, The Underworld. "[Now] I feel like I've got my mojo back, and my smile back and joy back that I didn't realise how much I'd lost in that. And to do that means that I am loving football more than ever, and I'm clear about all the things that I want to do."

Now leading the four-time world champions, Hayes has already added an Olympic gold medal to her résumé with the U.S. in just three months. And though her roots remain firmly planted in London -- where she continues to reside -- a return to Wembley on Saturday to take on England's Lionesses in a friendly will feel odd. Everything feels different now.

A humble beginning

Hayes has had remarkable success in her career -- seven WSL titles, five FA Cups, two League Cups, among others -- but attributes much of it to her Camden roots and the unwavering support of her parents, Sid and Miriam. Indeed, her late father played a pivotal role in shaping her coaching journey and urged her to take the U.S. role before his passing in September 2023. His absence during her final season at Chelsea was profoundly felt, as Sid had been her and the team's most devoted supporter, and his relentless work ethic in managing the family's foreign exchange business became a cornerstone of Hayes' drive to achieve greatness.

As a young girl, Hayes was once left starstruck by a more-affluent friend who lived in a "nice five-storey" house. Yet, upon returning home and adopting a mock posh accent, her mother swiftly brought her back to reality: "Your s--- still stinks," Miriam reminded her, an anecdote that Hayes cherishes as a defining moment in her upbringing.

That grounded perspective became the bedrock of the ambition and resilience we would later see as a football manager. "I'm not from a privileged background; I'm from a home where you had to keep your feet on the ground and be humble and hardworking," she said. "I don't take anything for granted. I earned everything; it wasn't gifted."

The large smile spread across Hayes' face throughout Monday's event came from a sense of joy and belonging that came from being back in her beloved Camden, and she exuded an energy that was unmistakably authentic. The laughter, the casual banter and her ease in the familiar environment reflected her contentment with being in the midst of her people -- surrounded by a handful of friends and family as well as the media.

"I'm such a Camden girl and I'm so happy to be back in Camden," she said. "You'll probably see that with the smile that's on my face. This is my home and I'm very much looking forward to an amazing week with my team.

"I'm very grateful for everything that my country and my city has given me. I've learned the more I age, that you just have to go for it in life and you have to enjoy life, not be worrying all the time. So [it was amazing] driving past my school, Parliament Hill, to come here and see a 'Welcome Back, Emma' sign outside the Underworld. ... My community is what I am and what I care about and I'm so stoked to be here with people that have been massive in my life."

Hayes' community has always been her anchor, a constant source of grounding and belief through every high and low point of her journey. Even during moments of self-doubt, when she questioned whether she'd ever become the serial winner she is today, her family never wavered in their faith in her potential.

At one point, Hayes asked those in the room to raise their hand if they thought she would go on to be a serial winner. Her friends and family all raised their arms emphatically. It was a powerful, symbolic moment -- a testament to the unwavering belief of those who had stood by her side, from her humble beginnings to the pinnacle of international football.

"So many people say they saw that for me; I didn't necessarily think that was going to happen," she said. "I knew it was what I wanted and I knew the sacrifices I've made in my life to get to where I am. I know how many weddings I've missed; how many birthday parties I've missed; how many holidays I've missed. I know how many nights out I missed.

"My friends will tell you that. My family will tell you that 'Emma always put football first,' and sometimes I'm not always proud of that. It was lonely, many times, it was really lonely because I had a dream for the game, not for myself. I had a dream for women's football that I've been able to live, and I'm just so grateful that I was pushed by my parents and my family to be able to do that. Without them supporting me, to help with [her son] Harry and everything like that, I definitely wouldn't have done it."

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Hayes: USWNT job helped me get my mojo back

Emma Hayes explains how the move to international management has improved her wellbeing away from the pitch.

A different type of game and familiar faces

Hayes is no stranger to the grand stage of Wembley Stadium, having stood on its hallowed sidelines during numerous FA Cup finals, and it's a place she fondly refers to as her "second home." Yet, as she prepares for Saturday's clash against England, everything feels different. This time, she's not the celebrated hero of English football but the pantomime villain, leading the USWNT into battle against the Lionesses on their home turf.

With 80,000 tickets already sold for the highly anticipated encounter, Hayes knows the evening will be hostile. But rather than dread it, she welcomes the challenge and isn't weighed down by pressure.

"There's no denying it's a different type of game, playing at Wembley," she said. "I had to think through how I'm going to be standing there as an away team coach because it will be full of English people supporting the home team.

"I don't put too much thought into the feel and the atmosphere of a place that honestly feels like a second home to me. I know going back to Wembley, yes, I'll have to go in the away dressing room, but I get to experience another opportunity between the Olympic champions and the current European champions in a game where there's top quality on show for both sides."

Still, for Hayes, the matchup carries an emotional weight beyond the football. England has always been the country she's called home, the place where her success has been celebrated. Now, she finds herself navigating a complex mix of pride and conflict, standing on the other side of the anthem she once sang and facing players she helped shape into world-class athletes.

"I have to go through a weird moment when the national anthem's playing, something I will hum along to as I always have done being the English person that I am," she said. "I'll also do the same for the American national anthem. I love both anthems and beyond that weird moment and seeing some of the competitors I've come up against or players that I've gone to war with, its business come kickoff."

Though England will be without Chelsea duo Niamh Charles and Lauren James due to injury, Hayes will still face some familiar faces. Among them are Chelsea players Hannah Hampton, Aggie Beever-Jones and, perhaps most poignantly, Millie Bright -- her former captain and a player she described as "like a little sister" and "a special person."

While Wembley may feel like home, it will certainly remind her of the fine line between nostalgia and new beginnings, between being loved and being the villain. Yet her motivations for winning remain the same.

"I'm a competitor and I want to win football matches and I represent a dressing room that likes winning too," she said. "So of course we're coming to win at the weekend, but it's not like my overarching goal. I want to qualify for the World Cup. I want to win the World Cup."

Hayes will use the game to experiment with new strategies and combinations within her U.S. team, particularly in the absence of the "Triple Espresso" front line of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, who didn't join the squad. It's a delicate balancing act, aimed to give players with just one or two caps the opportunity to experience the magnitude of an iconic game like this, while also ensuring the team establishes meaningful connections on the pitch.

"There have to be connections and relationships there, but I also want to give opportunities," Hayes said. "So, getting that balance in these two games is critical because there is going to come a moment when I want a player who's got one or two caps to experience what it's like to play in front of 80,000 people.

"It feels a bit hostile and a little bit cold, and you're not really sure because you get a bit roughed up in the game. I want to see who some of our players are in that moment. But sometimes you do that at the expense of [using] someone who you know what they can do in that arena, again and again. So I will stick with my long-term goals that dominate my thinking and go to the bench when I need to."

This match isn't just about the competition, it's part of a larger mission. The unmistakable air of optimism that surrounds Hayes now has helped her focus and block out the noise. And whatever happens, she knows it will be a "night to remember."

"I work every day so that I can build women's sport and women's football," she said. "80,000+ [fans], I'm sure a lot of people around the world will be watching the game. ... I know exactly where I am and what I want to do with my life and that's in the women's game and that's with developing everything in and around that. That clarity has really helped me to shine a light, even internally in our own federation, on things we need to do. I'm just enjoying and thriving in a different way."