Becoming a European champion with Arsenal in 2007 meant “the world” to Emma Hayes. “The medal hangs very proudly on that lovely light in my kitchen,” Hayes, who steps down as Chelsea manager at the end of this season to take over the US Women’s National Team (USWNT), said last October. “(The Champions League) isn’t missing from my cabinet, it’s very firmly there.
“I’ve got a gold one (from what was then known as the UEFA Women’s Cup, as Arsenal assistant first-team coach) and a silver one (from the 2020-21 Champions League, when her Chelsea side lost to Barcelona in the final). Would I like to do it as Chelsea manager? Of course I’d love to, but it isn’t missing from my life, that’s for sure.”
Yes, Hayes, 47, has conquered Europe once before but, under Arsenal manager Vic Akers in those days, she played a very different role to that of Chelsea’s assembler and leader over the past 12 years. Hayes, as expected, downplayed how much winning the Champions League would mean to her in that conversation six months ago, and did so again before Saturday’s semi-final second leg at home against Barcelona, describing it as “just another game”.
But it was anything but. It was a match into which Chelsea took a 1-0 advantage, were in front of the women’s side’s first sellout crowd at Stamford Bridge, the club’s 40,000-capacity main stadium, and could knock out the holders to keep their hopes of winning that elusive trophy for the first time alive.
“You’re only as good as your next game,” she said on Friday. Well, Hayes’ team lost that next game 2-0 — one of, if not, the biggest match of her managerial career.
As last week in Spain, she executed a near-perfect tactical game plan but Chelsea were without any recognisable striker as Mayra Ramirez joined Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel on the injury list, conceded in the 25th minute via a deflection, hit the woodwork twice, had Kadeisha Buchanan sent off in what was “the worst decision in UEFA Women’s Champions League history,” according to Hayes, and conceded a “soft” late penalty, in defender Jess Carter’s words, when down to 10 players.
“Everything went their (Barcelona’s) way,” Hayes said, crestfallen.
Hayes was furious with the officials after Chelsea’s exit (Naomi Baker/Getty Images )
But Barcelona were the better side, and Chelsea failed to take their chances. “The first goal came from lack of discipline,” said Carter. “You can’t give them the opportunities to just do what they want the whole time. We let them dictate the whole way through.”
There is no shame in losing to Barcelona, especially after a red card leaves you playing 10 vs 11 for over half an hour. They are the greatest team of this era on the European and world stages, given the dominant presence of their players in Spain’s 2023 World Cup-winning national team. “If it weren’t for Barcelona, we would have been European champions already,” also said Hayes in October.
Does this loss define Hayes and her legacy? No. The latter does not hinge on one semi-final defeat and her impact on the the sport remains unchanged. She will still be remembered as the most dominant and influential coach in Women’s Super League history in a period when the women’s game was at its most visible, as well as a pioneer, spokesperson and advocate for women’s football.
However, coming so close to winning the Champions League — Chelsea have made the semi-finals in five of the past seven seasons, and have now lost to Barcelona by one goal on aggregate at this stage in back-to-back years — will hurt a lot. In the post-match huddle yesterday, Hayes was proud of her players but did not have “many words”, according to Chelsea midfielder Melanie Leupolz, who noted that, for players, Champions League finals are equally hard to come by.
Some players were reluctant to talk about Hayes’ legacy after the game, instead focussing on the team. Indeed, once Hayes’ farewell tour has ended, they will have to move on without her and, like the title of her audiobook, Kill The Unicorn, slay the belief that a leader is a “magical creature able to solve any problem”.
“It’s not about Emma today, it was about Chelsea as a collective,” Carter said. “We don’t play just for Emma, we play for ourselves, the fans and everything we all put into every game. Emma desperately wanted to win, but no more than we all did. We’re all equally disappointed.”
“This one game doesn’t define anything for Emma or anyone else,” added striker Fran Kirby. “She can leave the club very proud of everything she’s done and I hope she takes that with her.”
Hayes has had her last shot at the Champions League with Chelsea and, despite her many other managerial honours, it will always be a blank on her record, the trophy that got away; the manager who dominated domestically but never quite finished the job on the European stage, one of the best but not the best.
Indeed, as the next USWNT manager, Hayes will be judged solely on games like these: crunch matches in knockout stages against the best national teams in the world. Getting these pressure moments right, and she did little wrong over the two semi-final legs, in major tournaments will be the only yardstick.
But for now, Hayes’ attention must return to the WSL.
Chelsea have gone from chasing a quadruple to exiting three cup competitions in less than a month. She could leave England empty-handed this season, with just the league title now left to play for. Chelsea trail Manchester City by three points but have a game in hand with four (in their case) to play.
“You have no choice, you’ve got to dust yourself off and go again,” said Carter, whose team are away to fifth-placed Liverpool on Wednesday night. But given Hayes’ looming departure, the focus will undoubtedly turn to her as she tries to win the WSL for a fifth consecutive year.
Among six WSL titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups with the London club, a trophyless 2023-24 would leave an even starker gap in the history books.
(Top photo: Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
