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Renee Slegers had not played or managed beyond the group stages of the Women’s Champions League before taking charge of Arsenal this season.
Just four months after being named the Gunners’ head coach on a permanent basis, the 36-year-old has led the Gunners to Champions League glory for the first time in 18 years.
But how did the Dutchwoman – billed as the “next Sarina Wiegman” – rise up the ranks to become one of Europe’s best young coaches?
The ‘very intelligent’ player
Slegers’ relationship with Arsenal goes way back, having joined the club’s academy at the age of 17 in 2006.
When she left the club the following year, having made one senior appearance, Arsenal were freshly-crowned winners of the Champions League – or Uefa Cup as it was then known – under Akers.
Little did Slegers know that just nine years later her own playing career would be over, and that in another nine years she would be back in north London again – guiding Arsenal to a second European trophy and a first since 2007.
But what was Slegers like as a footballer before a serious knee injury ended her career in 2016? ‘Intelligent’ is the word that springs to mind from Leonne Stentler for the 55-cap Netherlands midfielder.
“You see in everything she does that she’s very intelligent,” said Stentler, who played alongside Slegers with the Dutch national side.
“Every action she makes on the field is intelligent. She knows which spaces she has to be, she was very technical – a beautiful technique.”
The midfielder played for Dutch side Willem II before moving to Sweden for spells at Djurgardens and Linkoping, but it all came to an end when she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a friendly against England – just nine months before the Netherlands went on to win Euro 2017 under Wiegman.
The ‘ideal next coach’
The end of her playing career marked the start of a bright future in coaching.
However, it wasn’t always an obvious calling for Slegers who studied communication sciences while still playing the sport.
“In my opinion, she was way too intelligent to do something in coaching,” Stentler said. “I would say she would go work at a company where she would manage a lot of people and just have a big career in something like that.”
But when word got round that Slegers was working through her Uefa coaching licence, people started to take note.
“From that point on in Holland, some of the women’s football experts were saying ‘OK we should wait until Renee Slegers gets her Uefa pro [licence]. Then she would be the best next Sarina Wiegman,” Stentler added.
“Whenever a coach was sacked or just quit, then always, everyone would say Renee Slegers would be the ideal next coach. Everyone believes a lot in her.”
After ending her playing career at Linkoping, Slegers stayed in Sweden for the start of her coaching journey – taking charge of Limhamn Bunkeflo and Sweden’s Under-23s before moving to Rosengard to coach their B team.
When Jonas Eidevall left Rosengard to manage Arsenal in 2021, she was promoted to head coach of the first team, who she led to to back-to-back league titles before Eidevall called about an individual player development role at Arsenal in 2023.
“I was playing with her son at the time, but we were on the walk when Jonas called and asked her whether she was interested in that position,” said Rosengard’s head of youth coaching, Jonathan Bartling, who remains good friends with Slegers, her partner – former Linkoping defender Maja Krantz – and their three-year-old son.
“I worked with Jonas myself for two years, and I know that he knows his football and is very, very driven. So I think it was a great opportunity, and especially seeing now where she’s at – it’s a nice projection she’s had there.”
Former Scotland defender Jen Beattie was playing at Arsenal while Slegers worked in the player development role and said she “always give you the time”.
Just like at Rosengard, Slegers has worked her way up the ladder at Arsenal – first becoming Eidevall’s assistant, and then taking interim charge when he resigned in October after a disappointing start to the season.
Her impact was instant. She went unbeaten in her first 11 games in charge – a run of fixtures that proved to be an almost-perfect audition for the permanent position.
“Renee came in she steadied the ship,” Arsenal left-back Katie McCabe said.
“She instilled a confidence in us and a belief. She oozes confidence and for me, I really trust in what she says and how she leads this team.”
There have been some bumps along the road since Slegers became the Gunners’ new boss, but two spectacular comeback wins against both Real Madrid and Lyon booked Arsenal’s ticket to the Champions League final, where they stunned European powerhouses Barcelona in Lisbon.
“Knowing how to communicate” with her players has been key to Sleger’s success, according to Stentler, while Beattie believes the Dutch coach has given Arsenal player’s confidence.
“That’s typical Renee – to make sure you know every player you’re working with, know how you approach them and how you should communicate with them, how you can make them think about tactical ideas and pitch them to you,” Stentler said.
Beattie added: “What she’s done is listen to players, understanding what they’re thinking, what they need in certain situations and filled them with confidence. I think the confidence shining through the players is seen by all at the minute.”
The ‘down to earth’ person
While Arsenal have put their fans through the wringer on several occasions in the Champions League this season, Slegers has cut a composed figure on the touchline.
Despite her cool demeanour, the 36-year-old said after Arsenal’s comeback victory against Lyon that although she may come across as though she “doesn’t feel anything” she is “not just calm and composed”.
“She’s always very true to herself. She’s calm and she has a lot of calmness over her, but she also has a lot of humour so there’s this balance in it,” Stentler said.
“I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t like her. It’s easy to be in in the same room as Renee.
Bartling, meanwhile, sees another side to Slegers, who visits him often in Sweden and the pair often work on “handiwork projects” together.
“She’s probably very much the same person [as on the pitch]. Maybe not the same amount of adrenaline on the sideline, but very friendly, family-orientated, down to earth, likes to be quite handy,” he said.
“We’ve been working a bit on renovating. I don’t know how you call it in English – it’s like an allotment garden where you have this kind of small house on it.
“We’ve been renovating the floor of one of those outside rooms and building new window panes for that room, planting and harvesting vegetables.”
For Slegers, beating Barca was undoubtedly the biggest moment of her coaching career so far, but she was already a “role model” for many.
“We talk about believing your dream, and I think that’s she’s a role model. I would say I use her now in my work with youth coaches as a role model,” Bartling added.
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- Football
- Women’s Football
