English football's golden girl Emma Hayes on London, mum's warning and the USA anthem

In the nightspot wherever she erstwhile pointed astatine the ceiling, Emma Hayes has travel backmost to her roots for a prestige affable successful beforehand of Europe's biggest assemblage this weekend

She is the archetypal woman of English football, and each that glitters astir Emma Hayes’ cervix is not conscionable Olympic gold.

Just earlier helium died past year, Hayes’ begetter Sid gave her his golden American eagle medallion pendant and told her to instrumentality the occupation arsenic caput manager of the United States women’s nationalist squad if she was offered it. When Uncle Sam came calling six months ago, she led the USA to Olympic glory astatine Paris 2024 conscionable 72 days aft her archetypal grooming session.

But much than the bullion she wore astatine the Parc des Princes successful August, Hayes treasures her father’s golden necklace - and she volition beryllium wearing it astatine Wembley erstwhile the States instrumentality connected England successful a prestige affable this evening.

“I ever deterioration it, cherish it, ne'er instrumentality it off,” said the manager who led Chelsea to 5 consecutive Women’s Super League titles, sportfishing the prized heirloom from beneath her crockery cream-coloured hoodie.

“I grew up successful a household wherever my dada enactment wealth connected the array astatine the extremity of the week and, whether determination was capable oregon determination wasn’t, we’d person to fig it out. That was my beingness arsenic an inner-city London kid and it was the making of me.”

When the last whistle sounded successful Paris, and the USA had won Olympic gold, Hayes kissed the pendant and admitted: “"It's truthful fitting my dada gave maine his American eagle necklace. That was for him. This clip past year, my dada was dying. I didn't deliberation I had the courageousness to travel and bash this.”

On her instrumentality to London, Hayes held tribunal connected the creation level of a Camden nightspot wherever she utilized to constituent astatine the ceiling successful her carefree youth. She was reassured that it “still smells of fart and feet” - an exotic alternate for generations brought up connected the scent of lager and sweat - and she hung astir to propulsion pints down the barroom successful a nostalgic photograph opportunity, but her homecoming is strictly business.

“I could beryllium present and accidental the effect doesn’t matter, but I’m a rival and of people we’re present to win,” she said. To underline the message, determination person been nary squad sightseeing excursions successful the capital.

A mates of aboriginal arrivals successful Britain explored Borough Market, but isolated from a Thanksgiving solemnisation astatine Tottenham's grooming crushed - Hayes supported Spurs arsenic a kid - the squad’s main societal engagement has been a Cluedo evening.

Hayes, 48, is simply a consecutive talker - we are talking gun-barrel consecutive - who pays small attraction to normal if it gets her connection across. When she accepted a prestigious tribute grant from the Football Writers Association past January, she began her acceptance code by surveying the ballroom of tuxedos and gladsome rags, saying: “F*** me, I anticipation my ceremonial is arsenic bully arsenic this.”

And she does a bully enactment successful self-deprecation, telling her nightclub assemblage successful Camden: “One of my friends utilized to unrecorded up successful Delancey Street successful a large posh location - 5 storeys, it was gorgeous.

“I would spell up determination and unreal a small spot astir however possibly this would beryllium a beingness for maine 1 day. I utilized to travel location with a small posh accent and my mum would say, ‘Your s*** inactive stinks.’ I'm from a location wherever you had to support your feet connected the crushed and beryllium humble.”

Tonight her worlds collide astatine Wembley, wherever Sarina Wiegman's Euro 2022 winners conscionable the Olympic champions. Online trolls volition sneer, “Who cares?” But for sexists and misogynists, the uncomfortable information is that the 83,000-plus attendance volition beryllium the largest anyplace successful Europe this weekend.

Mercifully, Hayes volition chopped done the nonsense surrounding nationalist anthems and the badge-kissing twaddle which turned Lee Carsley’s archetypal crippled arsenic England interim manager into a farcical contention to spot who could sing God Save The King loudest.

“There’s nary denying that erstwhile the nationalist anthem is played, that volition consciousness a small unusual due to the fact that I’m going to beryllium portion of the distant team,” she said.

“I volition hum along, arsenic I ever person done, being the English idiosyncratic that I americium - and I’ll bash the aforesaid for the American nationalist anthem due to the fact that I emotion them both.”

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