U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker is confident that he has made the right choice in selecting Emma Hayes to be the new United States women’s national team head coach.
When speaking in a U.S. Soccer media conference, Crocker said that he has only really got to know Hayes in the last few months but it soon became clear that the current Chelsea boss is the right person for the job and is worth waiting for.
“I’d seen her in various coaching workshops when I was at The Football Association but never had the opportunity to spend a significant period of time with her,” Crocker said. “It wasn’t until we began this process that I started to realise not only was she a fantastic coach, but also a great person and somebody with real gravitas and charisma.”
Although Hayes wont take charge of the United States until May, Crocker indicated that she will work closely with interim head coach Twila Kilgore in the coming months.
“Twila is our [interim] head coach and will run the program on a day-to day-basis and make decisions but she will stay in close contact with Emma.
“Just seeing Twila evolve, develop and show her leadership qualities, I became really confident that we could manage and have an interim plan that could ensure that we could have our cake and eat it and be as ready and prepared for the Olympics as we possibly can.”
Kilgore, who was an assistant under former boss Vlatko Andonovski, is set to remain a member of the backroom staff under Hayes. Speaking alongside Crocker, Kilgore said that she is honoured to be given the trust to lead the team on an interim basis.
She said “I think it’s important to remember that nobody’s irreplaceable and the fact that Matt and Emma trust me to help move the team forward in the interim is really empowering.
“It’s a very collaborative process. We’re working on the overall environment, what it should look like when she comes and we’re in alignment already as humans and football coaches.”
U.S. Soccer announced Hayes’ appointment as their new women’s national team head coach last week.