For Emma Hayes, this season is a long goodbye.
Since it was announced in November that she will leave Chelsea this summer to take over the United States women’s national team, Hayes has been dreaming of a perfect send-off.
The 47-year-old does not want her 12 years in charge of Chelsea to be defined by whether they win the Women's Champions League — the one trophy to elude her with the Blues — but there is no denying that winning the competition in Bilbao in May would be the ideal farewell present.
Hayes has been reflecting on her hugely successful time at Chelsea since she became the first woman recipient of the Football Writers’ Association Tribute Award.
She received the honour last Sunday at the Landmark Hotel, not far from where she grew up in Camden.
At her home in Muswell Hill, medals hang from her kitchen light fittings from the six WSL titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups she has won with Chelsea.
The Champions League is the one missing, although Hayes points to the fact she has a winners’ medal from 2007, when she was assistant to Vic Akers at all-conquering Arsenal.
Her Chelsea side can take a step towards their own European triumph tonight when they play Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge.
Victory will secure qualification to the quarter-finals as Hayes targets one final run at the trophy.
“Listen, I’d love to do it,” she tells Standard Sport. “Chelsea is so dear to me and I’d love to be able to do it. But I don’t want my reign defined by it.
“That’s probably why I speak about [winning it at Arsenal], because winning trophies is tough, and winning that one is extremely tough, especially with the likes of Lyon and Barcelona around. We will fight, though. I am sure of that.”
Chelsea reached the 2021 final, where they were humbled 4-0 by Barcelona, and have made it to the semi-finals in four of the past five seasons. Hayes is bullish about their chances this season, even without injured star striker Sam Kerr.
“We expect to be in the back end of the competition, as opposed to it being a desire,” she says. “There’s a distinct difference. You never know, anything is possible with all our players fit. But on our day [we can win it], this is a dressing room that wants that opportunity.”
That expectation for success at Chelsea is in stark contrast to the club Hayes took over in 2012.
"We were ranked 150th in European football and are now top three"
The Blues have replaced Arsenal as the dominant domestic force in the women’s game, winning 13 major trophies, and they are still in the hunt for a quadruple this season.
“I took my expertise back from America [where she previously coached] and had the club’s support to do it over time,” says Hayes. “I have had so many special moments and memories to put this team in that position to do that.
“We were ranked 150th in European football and are now top three. Hopefully, Chelsea now has the foundation to carry on that legacy, and I feel I have left the blue shirt in a better place.”
Of that there is little doubt. Hayes is also advising Chelsea sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart on her successor and has played a key role in the recent signing of defender Nathalie Bjorn from Everton and the pursuit of Levante striker Mayra Ramirez, who is set to join to help fill the void left by Kerr’s season-ending knee injury.
She has also helped with the project to build the Chelsea academy and training ground, while advancing research into managing injuries, pregnancy and the menstrual cycle of elite female athletes.
After tributes last Sunday from Sir Alex Ferguson, Chelsea forward Fran Kirby and her role model Akers, Hayes delivered an emotional speech when she received her award.
She talked about the support of her family, her late father Sid, her inspirations, setbacks she has faced, her love for Chelsea and her pride at the work women are doing in football.
Asked what she wants her legacy to be at Chelsea, Hayes says: “Oh gosh — I would have to say for winning first.
“I always see it as, what do you want to be written on your gravestone? I’ve always wanted ‘a determined winner and good human’. Being a winner matters, but not at the expense of being an a***hole.”
