The incredible Emma Hayes continues to amaze people with her charm and soccer tactics. Yes, those are the two critical components that keep her going. In Paris, she led her team to another Olympic gold medal, shutting down all the naysayers. In fact, she quickly got compared to the legends of the game, including Sir Alex Ferguson. Well, if you carefully examine the career paths of Sir Alex Ferguson and Emma Hayes, you find resemblances.

Besides, Hayes, herself, compares to Ferguson in terms of stature, poise, and class. According to the Telegraph, she detailed, “I see so much of myself in him,” in an interview, speaking about her admiration for the legendary manager. Well, when one looks at it, there are certain similarities.

The two managers stayed at their clubs for a long time. Barring Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Sir Alex spent 26 seasons at Manchester United, creating a supremacy no one has matched. He won the English Premier League titles, FA Cups, Champions League, and other trophies to put the club on the map. They became a force to be reckoned with. He won three Premier League titles in a row to establish dominance in the English club soccer scene. Meanwhile, Hayes followed a similar path.

She won five WSL titles in a row to create history. Winning one itself is exemplary. Winning 5 makes it legendary. She spent 12 years in Chelsea and won 16 major titles. During those 12 years, Chelsea soccer club saw some of the best games played at Stamford Bridge. Hence, Hayes became the leading force in women’s soccer. Now, when you compare their personalities, they are often the same.

The contrasting personalities of Emma Hayes and Sir Alex Ferguson!

Besides winning trophies, managing players becomes another problematic task. More often, some players arrive with big egos and become hard to manage. They have personal goals and ambitions, and the club often finds it hard to align with them; because the buck stops with the manager. Hence, there is a knack for handling those players. Sir Alex does it naturally well. He is regarded as the best man-management coach in recent times. He knows how to get the best out of every player with his inspiring messages and motivational pep talks.

Now, the first thing Emma Hayes did when she arrived at USWNT was dropping Alex Morgan. She has her own way of setting a culture within the club, the one USMNT misses now. Unlike the women’s team, the men’s U.S. soccer team lacks discipline and the determination to succeed in major tournaments. But for USWNT, Emma Hayes set a perfect culture for the squad, within just 2 months after she arrived.

She manages her players perfectly well, and these qualities become similar when we compare her to Ferguson. They have similar styles in their approaches to the game. SAF plays his soccer directly with players running forward to score goals. Likewise, Hayes has her team set up to attack from up front with rapid pace.

Emma Hayes possesses all the qualities that make her a perfect modern-day counterpart to the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. They are the influential members of the game and Emma is indeed right – her trajectory is in the path of Sir Alex Ferguson!