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New U.S. women’s national team manager, Emma Hayes, has had a tremendous impact in her first trimester in charge of the United States. Including experienced captain Lindsey Horan.
The former Chelsea gaffer lead the USWNT to their first gold Olympic medal in 12 years, returning the national team to the podium of women’s soccer after a disastrous exit in the 2023 World Cup.
Hayes has also, along the way, quickly gained the respect of some of the USWNT’s biggest stars, with Lindsey Horan having an emotional reaction to the English manager’s praise for the national team captain. Horan could not hold back the tears.
Watch: Lindsey Horan’s emotional reaction to Emma Hayes praise in Olympic Final post-match press conference
Lindsey Horan, despite being one of the most experienced players and captain of the USWNT’s Olympic roster, did not have the best of the individual tournaments.
The Lyon midfielder had lackluster and unrecognizable matches throughout the 2024 Paris Olympics, with even fans criticizing Horan’s performances.
Though, despite the heavy criticism, Hayes backed Horan to remain in the starting lineup, with the manager expressing her gratitude and appreciation for the captain in the post-match press conference following their Gold Medal win against Brazil.
After Horan had finished talking about the USWNT’s current state ahead of the 2027 World Cup, Hayes wanted to add some words for Horan and how important the 30-year-old is to the team, on and off the pitch.
“You don’t see all of the work she does outside the pitch, you don’t see all the conversations she has… whether it’s [to] help nurture a young player, or to settle nerves or to remind people of their confidence…” said Hayes.
“She has put performance first, winning first… she took hard decisions with the players and I really admire that in her. I can see not only why she’s a leader of this team, but she made my job so much easier because she was firm with everyone, but also very fair.”
“I’m delighted for Lindsey because she deserves that and doesn’t always get the credit she deserves and it’s been an honor for me to work with her” she added.
Having your captain crying like this in a press conference after just 10 games in charge is nothing short of godly man management from Emma Hayespic.twitter.com/xqgbLQefkl
— Justin Ruderman (@JustinRuderman_) August 11, 2024
These words quickly caught up with Horan, who reacted to the manager’s 'appraisal' with tears — jokingly telling reporters in the room to not ask her anymore questions.
Hayes and Horan would end the memorable moment between the two with a hug, showcasing the amazing bond grown within the national team since Hayes and her coaching staff’s arrival last June.
You love to see it, U.S. fans.
Full Hayes-Horan Gold Medal post-match press conference
