Ever wondered what the standout element was that Emma Hayes infused within the USWNT? Sure, giving freedom to her players is one thing, considering there was no limit to the creativity the American ladies exhibited in the Olympics. While Hayes may have given on-pitch leniency, off the pitch, she didn’t hesitate to tax her players for forgetting one crucial rule of the team during the Paris Olympics.

If you want to win fair and square, you have to play by the rules. Not sure if Hayes would be complying with this statement, but that explains how, having arrived just a few weeks before the Summer Games, the former Chelsea boss was able to get the team on the same page and make them believe in each other within 4 games and 8 training sessions!

“First of all, I picked the right team. I think you have to get that right and make up the right composition,” she spilled the beans over her secret spice of winning while having been invited as a guest on Episode 141 of Laughter Permitted with Julie Foudy podcast. Then again, the biggest challenge that stood in front of her was to make sure that neither of the 22 players got to feel that they wouldn’t get to play at all. Luckily she was able to come up with a brilliant and safe idea.

“I spoke with the whole environment in the background, and I said we would not use language like ‘alternates,'” revealed Hayes, the key rule that she didn’t hesitate to implement for both players and coaches: “We would talk about the squad of 22 players, of which, yes, there are 18 rostered players and 4 non-rostered players for that particular match. That was one thing I wanted to get right. I didn’t want anybody to feel like, ‘Oh, I’m an alternate,’ even the language I hated.”

Even though there were a few who didn’t earn a single minute in either of the six-game Olympic runs, Hayes was able to change that ideology by being able to create the right atmosphere. “You have to make sure that everybody understands their role within that,” concluded the former WSL boss. Indeed, the right approach somehow managed to work in Emma’s favor as she was able to build the right amount of trust and cohesion within the players. If that wasn’t enough, remember the few heartfelt words that Hayes had to say for unheralded figures?

The lesser-known pep talk that Emma Hayes dedicated to the USWNT’s unsung heroes

In an off-camera speech, the USA manager took a moment to recognize the overlooked heroes, a moment shared on the US Soccer Federation’s official YouTube channel in a video titled, BEHIND THE CREST | USWNT Golden Once Again! In her speech, Emma begins, “Most importantly, I’m in a team because I like [a] team, and I believe in doing things together.”

Speaking to the bench and the players who didn’t feature in the game, the former Chelsea manager continued, “Of course, not everybody can play all of the time but everybody has not only contributed in an unbelievable way but has embraced their role in a way where I have learned so much from you.” 

The way the USWNT’s fringe players maintained team spirit and never voiced complaints about their lack of playing time during the Summer Games undoubtedly prompted Hayes to give them a special acknowledgment. Talk about gratitude!