Fully in “holiday mode”, Carla Ward had enjoyed a few drinks when the surprise phone call came from Emma Hayes. The USA head coach was asking her to come and work for her during a large sporting event taking place in France in July and August. “I’ll be really honest, I’d had a few glasses of wine or a few strawberry daiquiris, I can’t remember which, and I didn’t take it seriously,” the former Aston Villa manager recalls. “I was like: ‘I’ve got a holiday booked, let me see if I can change it.’ And my friend said: ‘What is wrong with you? This is the Olympics!’ – then it dropped in my brain. Emma meant: ‘Come to the Olympics.’”
Ward is certainly glad she said yes. The 40-year-old joined Hayes’ backroom team as a scout analysing opponents during a campaign that ended with the US team winning gold in Paris, and speaking in the buildup to the USA’s match against England at Wembley, she recalls an unforgettable learning opportunity. “There was never one doubt in my mind that she was going to win gold,” Ward says of Hayes. “Being around the team 24/7, you knew there was an air of calm, there was an air of confidence. People hang on her every word, and rightly so. To see how she delivers messages and creates this environment is sensational. For me, she’s the best in the world.”
