“But I’ve got memories.” And just like that, we witnessed Emma Hayes come to terms with not receiving a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Although history has shown that coaches rarely receive this special distinction at the Summer Games, many in the soccer fraternity argued that the former Chelsea boss deserved such appreciation at the very least. This notion even left her former WSL rival, Carla Ward, in disbelief, as she called it quite ‘fascinating.’

The former Aston Villa W boss in the latest episode of the Upfront podcast made this vocal revelation. Having been part of Hayes’ coaching staff for the Paris Olympics, Ward shared her experience working with the fellow English tactician for a month-long gig. Interestingly, when asked if she had any kind of grief over not being awarded her own gold medal, Ward denied it.

However, the 40-year-old was upset over the fact that Hayes didn’t receive it. “I was absolutely astounded that Emma in particular, didn’t get an Olympic gold medal. I find it fascinating and I cannot believe that,” said Ward, expressing her discontent over the International Olympic Committee for not awarding coaches with their own merit.

To recall, USWNT icon Abby Wambach was also displeased over a similar issue. “It’s a shame coaches don’t get medals. You deserve one… this I know for sure,” commented Wambach on Hayes’ Instagram post celebrating the victory in Paris with her own beautiful caption, “Gold Babyyyyyy. These women are so worth it.” 

Nonetheless, we know Hayes was still satisfied with how she could lead the USWNT to gold. “At the end of the day, I coached an Olympic gold medal-winning team. I don’t need a medal for that. These people have really opened up and I’ve enjoyed being in their presence and their company. For me, that’s even more valuable than a medal,” she said earlier.

While this may not be the right time to delve into why coaches don’t receive Olympic medals, what’s remarkable is hearing from Carla Ward about how she experienced a completely different side of Emma Hayes—one she hadn’t witnessed before.

Hear the never-before-seen side of Emma Hayes!

In a similar vein, when asked if working with Emma Hayes was unlike anything she had experienced before, Carla Ward firmly disagreed, before adding, “Emma has this air of calm about her and it was interesting because seeing her in France compared to the end of the season at Chelsea, she had a renewed energy about her and you could see that,” added Ward in her recent appearance in the Upfront podcast.

Considering their history, it’s not surprising that Carla could identify this distinction and express even greater admiration for Emma. While calling the 47-year-old the best in the world, Ward acknowledged Hayes exuded a calm aura that instilled a sense of belief in everything the team did.

“There was never any doubt from moment one that they could go and win gold. You could see that she fed that into everyone; players, staff, everybody involved,” concluded Ward, admitting that Hayes’ positivity was no less than a spellbound for the whole group.

Still doesn’t deserve a gold medal, eh?