An English coach comes to the US to manage a soccer team and instantly finds a big win. An American football coach beats all odds to find success with an English soccer team. There lies the uncanny resemblance between USWNT coach Emma Hayes and the fictional character from the NBC series. So, fans unsurprisingly have been gushing at this comparison all over the web. But, former USWNT star Sam Mewis is thinking twice before branding the Olympic-winning USWNT coach as the ‘Real-life Ted Lasso.’

Sam Mewis began the latest episode of her Women’s Game podcast by addressing the Emma Hayes-Ted Lasso comparisons. “Do I think Emma Hayes is the real-life Ted Lasso? I don’t know. No,” said Sam Mewis stressing that she doesn’t think there’s a similarity between Hayes and Lasso. “I feel like she’s in some way super-inspiring and seems like she would be really great around,” Mewis added. Thereafter, the former KC Current star gave the comparison a pass, saying it was funny.

“Ted Lasso is like a male Midwestern male football coach and Emma Hayes is kind of like has a different vibe from that. But, I think, it’s a really funny comparison and we need more of both of them in our lives,” Sam Mewis added.

Let’s now decode the Hayes-Lasso comparisons to analyze the key differences and similarities between the US coach and TV’s favorite coach.

Why do fans think Emma Hayes is the real-life Ted Lasso?

Emma Hayes has been living and breathing soccer for quite some time, unlike Ted Lasso, who coaches AFC Richmond without any prior soccer experience. However, as we all know, Lasso’s optimism and folksy approach to life and the sport resulted in AFC Richmond’s success. Hayes, similarly, has become America’s favorite on the back of her astute locker room management acumen.

Coach Hayes has time and again stressed the importance of pursuing joy with her USWNT players. She has thanked the USWNT stars for joyously allowing her to be herself in the Team USA camp. Besides, as per coach Hayes’ final speech before the Olympic gold medal game, she could be seen urging players to compete in the final for the sheer joy of playing soccer, rather than eyeing the Olympic gold. No wonder, some call her Ted Lasso after the Olympic success in Paris.

Moreover, the theme of a non-native coach coming to a different nation and successfully coaching one of their teams resonates with art, in Lasso’s case, and real life in Hayes’ case. Though Hayes has always been soccer savvy, the USWNT job is her first time as a national team coach. That fact can indeed be read along the same lines as Lasso embarking on a new role with AFC Richmond. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think the US coach is the real-life Ted Lasso? Tell us in the comments.