Emma Hayes said she "sees so much of herself" in legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Hayes, who left her role at Chelsea at the end of last season, took charge of the United States women's national team in May, with her first test being the Paris Olympics.
She guided the USWNT to their fifth gold medal in the French capital, defeating Brazil 1-0 in the final thanks to Mallory Swanson's 57th minute goal.
After the triumph, Hayes revealed that Ferguson was the first person to congratulate her on the win, going on to say she sees similarities between herself and the Scot.
“I see so much of myself in him. His was the first text I received when we won gold," Hayes said in an interview with The Telegraph.
Hayes spent the early part of her coaching career in the United States, managing the Long Island Lady Riders, Iona Gaels and Chicago Red Stars before her move back to England in 2012.
But her success with the USWNT in Paris is something she had dreamed about growing up in London, a triumph that still strikes an emotional chord a month later.
“I still get a lump in my throat thinking about it,” Hayes says of winning at the Olympics.
“I fill up every time. I have dreamt about it. I have played that out on the pitches by the flats in Camden."
During her time with Chelsea, Hayes won 16 major honours, including the Women's Super League title for the last five consecutive seasons.
The 47-year-old oversaw 367 matches for the Blues, winning 261 (D42 L64), ending her 12-year stint at the club with a win percentage of 71.12%.
She also came close to winning the Women's Champions League in the 2020-21 season, with Chelsea well beaten in the showpiece match by Barcelona.
Despite her success in SW3, Hayes welcomed the change in scenery but understood her success with the Blues put her in a pressurised position.
“I was happy for my time at Chelsea to come to an end,” Hayes said.
“Pressure comes with the position I am in and certainly comes with the winning history I have. I accept that.
“But I have enjoyed feeling joyful again.
"I didn’t realise how debilitating grief is and how much both grief and my own personal struggles of the last few years have really sapped me of everything.
"I am so happy to turn a page. Proud of everything I have done at Chelsea but happy to be in this new space.”
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Milinkovic-Savic leveller keeps champions unbeaten
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic preserved Al-Hilal's unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season as his header earned the defending champions a 1-1 draw against Al-Nassr on Friday.
Al-Hilal dropped their first points of the season having won their first eight games, but remained at the summit of the standings, moving one point clear of Al-Ittihad.
Al-Nassr found themselves in front inside two minutes when Otavio's clipped ball found Talisca, who took a touch before firing the ball beyond Yassine Bounou.
The first half saw clear-cut chances hard to come by, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Talisca and Mohamed Simakan seeing their efforts unable to trouble visiting goalkeeper Bounou.
Al-Hilal, who had scored 23 goals in their first eight games, came closest to an equaliser after the break when Salem Al Dawsari struck the woodwork.
But the leveller came in the 77th minute when a free-flowing move ended with Milinkovic-Savic heading the ball in off the post after being picked out by Renan Lodi's cross.
Both sides looked to find a winner in the closing stages, with Ali Lajami coming the closest for Al-Nassr, but the points were shared at the Al Awal Park at King Saud University.
Data Debrief: Champions end Ronaldo streak
Ronaldo's run of four straight games with a goal came to an end against Al-Hilal, though he was Al-Nassr's most potent attacking threat during the encounter.
The Portugal captain registered a team-high 0.37 expected goals (xG) to Al-Nassr's 0.9 total, while also having the joint-most touches in the opposition box (five - level with Otavio).
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