August 6, 2023. The US Women’s National Team witnessed one of the worst heartbreaks in their history after suffering a Round of 16 exit from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. After 120 minutes of a stalemate, the then-Vlatko Andonovski-led side lost the penalty shootout 5-4, leaving a scar in the hearts of the entire nation. Moving forward, they were left with just one question: What’s next? Who would restore the great dominance of the American ladies that had been shattered in just a couple of hours? The answer came exactly four days later—but in 2024—when the USWNT won gold at the Paris Olympics, led by none other than Emma Hayes.

Not to mention, the former WSL boss accomplished all of this within just a few months. Now, it’s rare to see a moment where ardent U.S. fans aren’t beaming with joy. In fact, it takes us back to the golden era of the USWNT—before the Vlatko era—under Jill Ellis. Winning back-to-back World Cups in 2015 and 2019—boy, those were the good old days for the USA.

Sure, it may have taken nearly five years to witness another high, but it’s safe to say Emma Hayes was the right person to carry the torch forward. As the English tactician continues to run with it and cross the team’s 40th anniversary, the question arises—is it too early to start comparing her tenure to that of Jill Ellis?

Don’t blame us! It is a debate that was ignited by a Reddit user by the name of salty-mangrove-866. Before sparking this unique discussion, the netizen shared a brief backstory. Having played soccer partway through high school, the user recalled watching the 2011 Women’s World Cup final—where the Pia Sundhage-led USWNT heartbreakingly lost to Japan on penalties (3-1) after a fiercely contested 2-2 draw over 120 minutes.

Despite living in Canada, the fans’ interest in the USWNT, NWSL, and women’s soccer as a whole only grew—almost like “Kool-Aid drinking,” as they put it. Still, this Reddit user admitted he wouldn’t call himself a hardcore soccer geek, describing his knowledge of the Ellis era as “shallow at best.” Yet, with the Stars and Stripes thriving under Emma Hayes, he couldn’t help but draw parallels to Jill Ellis’ tenure.

The netizen pointed out that Jill Ellis wasn’t afforded the same player pool or quality of opponents as seen in more recent years. Meanwhile, when it comes to Emma Hayes, her only major tournaments so far have been the Olympics and the SheBelieves Cup. This was enough to ignite a passionate debate among other fans, which we believe you should have a look at!

Jill Ellis or Emma Hayes: What is the soccer world’s pick?

As salty-mangrove-866 shared views on the Jill Ellis vs Emma Hayes debate, ardent soccer fanatics couldn’t stop themselves from jumping into the controversy. It was more of a meaningful comparison that was drawn by the fans between either of the two coaches.

To be fair, salty-mangrove-866 did have a valid point on how either of the managers had different players to work with. This is exactly why another netizen didn’t jump to a conclusion to give a solid response:

“One: it’s too early to tell. Two: USWNT fans tend to have rose-colored glasses when thinking about Jill Ellis. Many of her best players criticized her publicly and said they were successful despite of her. The players wanted a different coach. Jill was successful but this was at a time when USWNT had by far the best players in the world and other countries weren’t as caught up in women’s soccer as they are today. Emma Hayes is going to have a much tougher task, so the comparison is apple to oranges here.”

Okay, but still keeping aside the too-soon factor, is there a chance to make a pick between either of them? After all, given how Hayes is almost set to complete her first year coaching USWNT, one has a key sense of differentiating the coaching styles of the two. For this fan, the winner is Emma Hayes. And the reason is something that you’ll surely agree with:

“Too early to make the comparison, but I think Emma will come out on top from what I’ve seen so far. I think she’ll also have a much wider impact on US Soccer in a way that Jill Ellis ever did or will.”

This fan might just have fired shots at Jill Ellis, recalling how unevenly the former USA boss used to treat her players. Sure, one can’t deny the success she brought to the team, but so has Hayes. And from what we have heard so far about Emma, she is winning over the hearts of both players and fans:

“I hope Hayes is our coach for many years to come. I disliked Ellis tremendously due to how she treated players. (Good coach, maybe; not an awesome human being.) I have wondered how the 2015-2019 rosters would have done under Hayes. I’d put money that they would have had a much better time and enjoyed the victories more.”

Looks like fans weren’t in favor of Jill Ellis at all! This debate is almost shaping up to make Emma Hayes the clear winner—mind you, she only arrived in the States last summer. And to top it off, she still has a long journey ahead with the team. In fact, one netizen echoed the sentiment of a fellow Reddit user, insisting that all Ellis truly had was the support of those iconic players. Even we’ve started to wonder what it might have been like if the previous generation had played under Hayes:

“Jill Ellis’s recent ventures proved to me that she mainly benefited from having arguably the strongest generation of US players.”

But it’s not like everyone is on Team Emma Hayes. While this Reddit user did come out in support of Jill Ellis, they eventually shared a diplomatic response, suggesting that both coaches are great in their own right. A safe yet sensible take—and honestly, we couldn’t agree more:

“Good god, what an unfair comparison to make. Jill has made her bones, and was very successful in her time, which is now done. She had amazing players and developed them well. Emma is near the beginning of what I hope to be a long and glorious career.”

Regardless, this is just a glimpse of reactions and responses that you saw over this Jill Ellis vs Emma Hayes debate cooking up on Reddit, that too on the USWNT’s 40th anniversary. While they were some unique points, we’d surely like to know your take in the comments.