I’M INTENSE, RELENTLESS… AND I DIDN’T EVEN MEAN TO BE A COACH
Twenty-five movies into the James Bond franchise, 2021 was the year a woman finally got the 007 moniker.
In another life, however, the role of international super-spy might have been Emma Hayes’ instead.
“That was the path I wanted to go down – I really wish I’d had enough confidence to do it,” the Chelsea manager tells FFT with a smile. She was just 17 when her playing career at Arsenal was cut short after an ankle injury on a ski trip – so naturally, she turned to espionage. One of three sisters from Camden, she abandoned football altogether for a while and headed for Liverpool Hope College to read European Studies, Spanish and Sociology with hopes of working in intelligence.
“I did a Masters at Salford in Intelligence and International Affairs, and got a job at Camden Sports Development at the end of it to move back home,” she explains. “I did it as a placeholder until I’d plucked up the courage to put my application in for a job in intelligence – but I never did pluck up that courage. Then I got a job in America. I just meant to go and have a good time – I didn’t mean to be a football coach.”
It was a happy accident to say the least, with Hayes since describing herself as being “made in America”. The same young woman who lacked the heart to apply for her dream job moved Stateside during the golden era of US soccer in 2001, cutting her teeth as a coach at the Long Island Lady Riders and Iona College. When she returned to Arsenal in 2006, she served as assistant manager to the legendary Vic Akers.
Hayes was there for the Gunners’ glory years, overseeing
