5 hours Ago By Tom Beattie
United States Women's National Team head coach Emma Hayes has heralded her success in leading her team to gold medal glory at the Olympics over the summer as one of the standout achievements of her managerial career. The former Chelsea boss has enjoyed a memorable year, having led the Blues to a fifth consecutive Women's Super League title before taking charge of the Stars and Stripes . After taking her first ever international post, she made an immediate impact - leading the USWNT to a memorable triumph at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Her achievements in 2024 have now been honored as she was named as the Women's Coach of the Year at the FIFA 2024 The Best awards. This prize comes after Hayes landed the Ballon d'Or for Women's Coach of the Year to cap off what has been a stellar 12 months. Lionel Messi, Inter Miami handed major challenge on opening weekend of MLS's 2025 season 'I saw Clint Dempsey punch a window in fury - there was glass sticking out of his hand' Now, the 48-year-old has opened up on what it meant to her to lead the U.
S. to a gold medal at the Olympics over the summer. She said: "I’d dreamt of being at the Olympic Games and it was such a beautiful summer in France.
To win the Olympic gold medal ranks up there as my biggest achievement in my career - and that was so enjoyable. "The players really did an incredible job to take on everything that I asked of them. To deliver in the way they did, considering we’re still a relatively young squad, was a fabulous achievement.
" Hayes' team defeated Brazil in the French capital to earn gold, with a Mallory Swanson goal enough to separate the two sides at Parc des Princes. The U.S.
had saw off the challenge of Japan and Germany in the knockout rounds to reach the showpiece as they won the tournament for a first time since 2012. Looking back over a bumper year, Hayes admitted that she could never have imagined experiencing success at both club and international level. Speaking after she was named Women's Coach of the Year at the FIFA 2024 The Best awards, she said: "It's been an amazing year on many levels, but my overriding emotion is gratitude.
"I want to thank everyone who has been on this journey with us, especially the players, coaches and staff from Chelsea and the USWNT. In the middle of 2023, I never thought I would be sitting here as part of a gold medal-winning team, but I've loved working with the players and I'm very excited about 2025 and executing our WNT strategy." The Brit has now set her sights on taking her team to more success in 2025 as she looks forward to her first full year as coach of the U.
S. She added: "It's going to be an exciting time for the players as we continue to build on what we accomplished in 2024.".
