The adulation Emma Hayes receives after winning an Olympic gold medal for USWNT stays at an all-time high. Likewise, as a national team manager, she keeps visiting clubs in the NWSL to analyze player performances and to call them up. Notably, we saw a thrilling game between the Chicago Red Stars and the North Carolina Courage with the away side winning the game 3-1. Yes, the cameras panned to Hayes often, and she has a back story with the city.

Before her successful spell with Chelsea, Hayes managed the Chicago Red Stars. However, with all the gold and glamor of Chelsea for 12 years, the two years in the USA spelled a lot of trouble. It could have cost her career. Returning to the club as the international manager, Hayes experienced a sense of unfamiliarity.

She stated,

“Well first of all, this is the first time I’ve been back here (in Chicago) since I was fired so this is a really strange moment for me.” After getting fired and landing the Chelsea job, the spell at Chicago Red Stars became problematic in the then-league WPS. With players like Carli Lloyd, Jessica McDonald, Kate Markgraf, Whitney Engen, and Megan Rapinoe, she had the right players to become successful. Adding some international players, like Formiga and Cristiane, to the list might have provided multiple titles. In fact, the team management fired her at Starbucks.

Her story started when her father motivated her to come to the country. There were initial doubts, but she got the necessary coaching experience to set her mechanics straight for future challenges. History shows it worked well. But getting sacked in Starbucks became a shock for the talented manager.

Emma Hayes received the sack in Starbucks

“I remember getting sacked, and I was in a Starbucks. I got sacked in a Starbucks,” mentioned Hayes in a podcast with the Gamechangers.“I didn’t have my phone because I dropped it in the toilet that morning. I asked the person who sacked me to lend me their phone because I just needed to get a lift out of there.” It didn’t work well. The Red Stars finished 6th in WPS in 2009 out of the seven teams. Unlike the NWSL, the WPS was in its nascent stages. With minimal teams in the league, their performances gave her the axe.

Out of the 20 games they played, Emma Hayes’ side won just 5 and scored only 18 goals. It’s unthinkable to see her struggling with a soccer team, right? Well, one can’t do anything about it. Sometimes you walk through rocky paths for years until you find your bed of roses. Thus, with all the success with Chelsea, she started her USWNT career in style.

She returns to Chicago with the world at her feet. Hence, all fans trust her now. The players trust her now. All the soccer federation higher-ups trust her now; and the end goal – the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Let’s go win it, Emma!