Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
The Emma Hayes Interview | Unfiltered Soccer
20 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I've spent 25 years honing my craft to be able to do this job. I have promised myself with plenty of meditation, I will live it like that regardless of the outcome.
Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen.
Chapter 2: What plans does Emma Hayes have for the January camp?
Volkswagen has long been a supporter of soccer in America and has proudly been a partner of U.S. Soccer for over five years.
Welcome to Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim. LD, how are you, bud?
Doing great, man. Excited for today.
Excited for today. We always seem to get bigger and better guests each and every time. So super excited.
Chapter 3: How does the new High Impact Player rule affect the NWSL?
We are joined by Olympic gold medal winning women's Super League, seven time women's Super League champion and five times. So jealous. Five time FA Cup winner.
Chapter 4: What pressure does Emma Hayes feel as the USWNT head coach?
None other than U.S. Women's National Team manager Emma Hayes. Thank you, Emma, for joining us. This is an absolute honor.
The honor is all mine. Honestly, I've spent so much time watching you two play football over the years.
Chapter 5: What is Emma Hayes's coaching history and journey to the USWNT?
I'm so glad you've invited me on to grill you both today. So thanks for having me.
Oh, we already know.
Chapter 6: How does the culture of the USWNT influence player performance?
We've got our work cut out for us today. We get that. Thank you. This is awesome.
Emma, thank you. Before we start, guys, as always, follow us on social media at Unfiltered Soccer. Subscribe to the show on YouTube. Make sure you follow on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can always email Jordan, feedback at unfilteredsoccer.com. All right, Emma, let's get right into it. So we just spoke to Aaron Heifetz, who we love, the press officer for the women's national team.
He was in L.A. What was he doing, Tim? Where was he?
He was in front of the Landon Donovan statue. It's actually pretty badass.
Emma, I don't know if you know, but I have a statue in L.A.
Yeah, he sent me a picture of it before I jumped online. It couldn't quite fit in the whole frame, so it must have been pretty big.
It was, I think, outsized based on my 5'8 height. But anyway, January camp starting. So you guys have games against Paraguay on the 24th and Chile on the 27th. Where are you now? I just saw a recent quote where you – I'm paraphrasing, but you're really thinking two years out now and how you plan over the next whatever year and a half or so. So what's your mindset going into this camp?
What are you looking for? With the reminder that you don't have any European players and the Gotham players, I believe, are in Spain preparing for the Champions Cup. So what's your mindset now as you go into this camp?
I think we're absent about 17 core players from the squad.
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Chapter 7: What insights does Emma Hayes share about Trinity Rodman's journey?
I mean, I'm guessing that's what drew you to the job, but did you feel sort of that pressure of like, okay, this is a, this is a, I've got to win sort of situation.
I think I can totally appreciate what you're saying. And I think had the, the world cup prior to me taking over being in a different place, um, I think the opposite. I think there was a decline happening in and around the game. This wasn't just about the team. And sometimes that's just transition. Sometimes I always say this, we don't give enough credit to everybody else.
Like there's a declining us. It's just everybody, the investment has increased elsewhere. I think what I would say, and honestly, this is God's honest truth, being a parent now, Probably been through, when you lose a parent, probably been through, and I mean this seriously, I went through a really bad hysterectomy and I thought, oh my goodness, life can be short.
All I kept thinking to myself was, oh my God, I've got the opportunity to do the one thing I've wanted to do my whole life, to coach this team.
Mm-hmm.
Right, let's weigh it up. What's the worst things? What's the best things that are going to happen here? I'll get to go to an Olympics. I'll get to go to a World Cup. I'll get to pay my mortgage a bit. Okay, I've got perspective. Okay, now I've got it. Now I've got this crest in my hand. What am I going to do? Is it flight or freeze? Flock, which one? I'm thriving.
Like, for me, this is jumping out of an aeroplane and... like enjoying the amygdala moment, not running through a dark alley and thinking, I'm going to die in a minute. I'm just in that state of my life, perhaps through life experiences where I feel equipped to say I get it. I understand the expectations. I can live with them, but I'm not going to let them define it for me.
I've defined what it will mean for me. And as long as I when I put that shirt back down, I've done everything I possibly can. I can live with myself.
that and that's that's what fuels me that's why you know the players always say to me they're like you never look stressed they never and I'm like look stress happens but maybe my stress might be something different it might not be related to this job it might be because I couldn't get Harry to school this morning
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