I've got my mojo back ... I actually felt unwell at the end at Chelsea'

After recharging her batteries in the US, Emma Hayes reflects on the grind of club coaching and fresh ambitions

- Suzanne Wrack

Sitting in a makeshift press conference room on the dancefloor of Camden's Underworld music venue, beneath the World's End pub, Emma Hayes breaks into a big grin. "Thankfully it still smells of fart and feet," she says. "It was a big indie place for me back in the day. I've definitely not seen this place in the daylight, so that's refreshing." Hayes is home in London and with another grin declares: "I've got my mojo back."

The head coach of the USA women's national team is back where it all began for her in preparation for the showpiece friendly on Saturday between her Olympic champions and the European champions, England, at Wembley. This week her cultures are colliding, as she brings her team from the US, where she spent a number of formative years coaching, to London, where she grew up, played, then became one of the world's best. Thanksgiving will be celebrated at the training ground of the team she supported as a child, Tottenham. This will be a special week.