Rapinoe, Krieger, Hayes

Looking back on a big week. Two veterans officially retire. Emma Hayes is next to lead

If forced to summarize recent events across various levels of US women’s soccer, I suppose I’d say that time moves on, eventually. And we’ve been treated to quite a show of human emotion as we watch it turn.  

The eleventh season of NWSL has officially met its end, finding another record crowd (this one for number of supporters at a final), a shiny new broadcast deal, and a Championship entertainment value to match the character of a gripping year.  

At the end of it, Ali Krieger set right the karmic universe by lifting her first NWSL Championship trophy on her final day as a pro. 

At the other end of joy and desolation, Megan Rapinoe “yeeted” her achilles in the third minute of the final, limping off the professional stage in as unfortunate a manner as she did the World Cup. 

So goes the duality of sport. One woman’s triumph is another woman’s (achilles) pain. 

As the confetti settled on Krieger’s final glory, Rapinoe’s last heartbreak, and Gotham’s first Championship victory in franchise history, US Soccer confirmed the news that set us alight a few weeks back: Emma Hayes is the next coach of the USWNT. 

This slow-mo, post-disaster limbo train is back moving! 

Or, it will be next June. 

As expected, Hayes is to remain at Chelsea until the end of May.  In the meantime we’ll see more of Twila Kilgore. And we’ll hope that we see more of Shaw, Fishel, and Thompson alongside Smith, Rodman, Girma & co. too.  

Rapinoe

It’s been a busy year for women’s soccer. Staring down mid-November and looking back, I think the phrase I’ve typed most often while scribing away the World Cup, NWSL, WSL, UWCL and beyond is: “record crowd”. 

Second to that is “parity”, a word that marks NWSL’s accelerated competitiveness in a league already known for it, and a World Cup that threw several decorated teams out of an early and unceremonious window. The US were unalone in their early-round shock. The second most successful team in the world, Germany, bounced out in the group stage. Reigning gold medalists Canada and Conmebol’s dazzling juggernaut Brazil did as well.

But beyond the burgeoning attendance and global competition in the game, this year also marked a few veteran names announcing their retirement from o jogo bonito. In light of it, this World Cup often felt like our last dance with the names that carried the game toward those record crowds and parity. 

That list of course includes Megan Rapinoe, one of just four women and the only American to win a Ballon d’Or. And with Rapinoe’s departure in the background since July, the third most-written phrase I wrote this year is probably: “one of a kind”. 

That she was. Though her unique persona certainly bifurcated a polarized public. To many, she was an unmitigated hero. To others a villain. That mixed reception played out globally as well. 

As I noted from the press tribune at Wembley last October, the unmistakable boos targeted at Rapinoe felt heightened above the rest. August 6th in Melbourne, Rapinoe subbed in at the 99th minute against Sweden to an onslaught of boos that felt even more sharp.

Regardless, Rapinoe’s on field legacy will be rightfully remembered among the more impactful for US Soccer. Her 73 assists and 63 goals across 203 appearances were marked by an unshakable resolve, reliable set pieces and last-minute heroics on the big stage. I wrote about that on field legacy here. 

Off the field, Rapinoe in many ways did define the character of the USWNT in this generation. As she officially moves into retirement, the emerging stars of the next generation have yet to fully tell us what parts live on. 

Krieger

Leading up to the NWSL Championship, it felt like the cosmic weight of NWSL-watchers threw its good karma Krieger’s way. Amid a fraught public divorce with fellow USWNT World Cup Champion Ashlyn Harris, the pre-existing impetus for desiring a Krieger triumph expanded in size. 

What a delight it was to watch her lift her first Championship trophy, on her final night. 

Though perhaps less famous than Rapinoe, keen observers know Krieger was integral to the generation that brought USWNT World Cup domination in the 2010s. 

I think it’s sometimes lost in the melee surrounding this summer’s sinking defeat. But the US did fail to win a World Cup between 1999 and 2015. Notably, they never fell short of the semi-final. And ever more consequentially as we move forward: present circumstances surrounding global investment and expanding infrastructure in the women’s game were unheard of back then. 

All the same, Krieger and Rapinoe sit inseparable in the mind from a generation that marked the 2010s with World Cup trophy-lifting dominance after a sixteen year drought. In 2011 they fell to Japan in the final. In 2015 and 2019, they took back to back crowns.   

Now that they’re gone (and with the global landscape so vastly shifted) observers may rightly wonder how many years will go by before the US does it again, or likewise what generation of players and management could bring it about. 

Hayes

There's a substantial amount of hope to be had in this announcement. 

Arguably the best manager in the women’s game, Hayes has yet to coach at the international level, but has coached clubs on both sides of the sea and well-earned her esteemed reputation. 

Over the past decade at Chelsea, she developed an off-field culture and on-field excellence that collected a cabinet of trophies. Her ability to manage stars and deliver tough news- while seeing to the needs of not just footballers but women’s footballers- was key. 

In addition to a sharp tactical mind, the hope is Hayes brings that across the Atlantic. 

Her job will be gargantuan. And she’ll be the highest paid women’s football coach in the world to achieve it. The task? Take a historically great program faced with soaring new challenges, and redevelop it into a more modern women’s football machine. In short: win World Cups again. 

As we chart that path, there’s something rather poetic in Hayes taking hold of the team she’s described as part of her own origin story. Like so many fans, players, and pundits, that 1999 World Cup (hosted and won by the US) alerted Hayes to possibilities in women’s football she hadn’t thought possible. In the aftermath, she moved stateside to chart an early career. 

Many years later, she’s coming back. This time to right a ship that’s recently floundered amid waters vastly changed since ‘99. 

In US Soccer’s announcement, Hayes had glowing things to say about the appointment:

“This is a huge honor to be given the opportunity to coach the most incredible team in world football history.” 

And:

“The feelings and connection I have for this team and for this country run deep. I’ve dreamed about coaching the USA for a long time so to get this opportunity is a dream come true. I know there is work to do to achieve our goals of winning consistently at the highest levels. To get there, it will require dedication, devotion and collaboration from the players, staff and everyone at the U.S. Soccer Federation.”

We’ll need to wait for June to see what Emma Hayes unravels. When June arrives, Hayes will have just four games across two windows to prepare for the Olympics. 

Until then.

A few final notes. The USMNT plays Trinidad and Tobago in Austin tonight. And, I’m in Hungary. I’ll explain.