Was Emma Hayes the lucky charm the US Soccer needed? Since her arrival, the Women’s National Team regained its dominance by winning the gold at the Paris Olympics. While there’s more potential success in store for the American ladies, Matt Crocker believes that the former Chelsea boss’s arrival also brought good fortune to the Men’s side, helping them put a ‘mark in the sand’ by attracting a coach like Mauricio Pochettino.

Of course, there would be other reasons to state behind the arrival of the former Tottenham manager, say the World Cup. The opportunity to manage a host team isn’t something that one should let go of easily, making it ‘sharp into focus.’ But just as they say, fortune favors the bold, Hayes was a statement signature for the USWNT. With her help, the US Soccer’s technical director believes they were able to bring in a big-name coach for the American boys.

“I do think the hiring of Emma Hayes was significant in terms of really putting a mark in the sand around our ability to attract arguably some of the best coaches in the world,” said Crocker on CBS Sports Golazo America’s Morning Footy show. If you think Hayes’ influence ends here, Mr. technical director has more to share.

Crocker shared how USSF was able to break ground over their dream project, the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, a $250 million facility camp for athletes that will span 200 acres and include all the state-of-the-art facilities. Additionally, the investments that the USSF saw Matt optimistically share that they “were fishing in a different pool than where we were before—And that’s not disrespectful to Gregg or any of the other candidates.”

“Just the environment and the timing was different. Timing in this game sometimes is also important,” added the US Soccer chief, adding that it’s not only Pochettino that showed interest in the job. In fact, Crocker claims that Hayes taking reigns over the USWNT saw other big-name coaches express their desire to coach Christian Pulisic and Co.

“There wasn’t one individual that we spoke to that said ‘We’re not interested.’ Everybody was inquisitive and interested. So it was a really great process to go through, really stretched our thinking in terms of what might be possible for us,” concluded Crocker.

So Hayes really was the key to bringing the change that the USSF was hoping to get for years. No wonder she was involved more than anyone during the negotiations for Pochettino’s arrival.

Emma Hayes wanted US Soccer to ‘close the deal’ for Mauricio Pochettino ASAP!

Earlier, US Soccer CEO JT Batson suggested that Emma Hayes’ strong relationship with Mauricio Pochettino played a key role in bringing him on board. He hinted that this connection helped motivate Pochettino for the role. Batson went on to share an anecdote, recalling a moment during the USWNT’s game day in France at the Olympics.

While rushing to grab some coffee before the match, he received a call from Hayes, who asked, “So where do we stand on getting this coach done?” Batson revealed his conversation with Hayes, emphasizing her involvement in the process. He continued, “Like ‘What are we doing? Let’s go come on. She felt like a salesman she was like ‘Hey, let’s close this deal,” praising her concern and motivation.

Fast forward to the next month, Mauricio Pochettino finally lands in the States and takes the reign for the next 2 years. It remains to be seen whether Emma Hayes’ luck will help in USMNT’s World Cup run.