Renee Slegers: Arsenal boss 'never saw myself as a leader'
2025-02-14
Category: sports

Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers says she "never saw myself as a leader" when her playing career was ended by injury aged 26, but since taking over from Jonas Eidevall in October she has proved the perfect fit.The 36-year-old has guided the club to 15 wins in her 18 games in charge, lifted them from sixth to third in the Women's Super League (WSL) and helped them reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Champions League."I was always very interested in the game, of training methodology, of the tactics but I never saw myself as a leader," Slegers told Football Focus."Back then leadership looked different. It's changed so much and I'm happy it's going in this direction. "I've found myself, and I found a way of being myself and being a leader."The former Netherlands midfielder said England manager Sarina Wiegman has been a source of inspiration in her coaching journey."Sarina, I've seen her grow because in the year I got injured and stopped playing she was the assistant coach for the Netherlands so she was there starting her career," said Slegers. "She's an example for me because I think she's a very strong woman with strong ideas, but she also has compassion and she found a whole new way of leading."
Career-ending ACL injury 'a really hard one to take'
As well as never seeing herself as a natural leader, Slegers also believes she was "not a complete footballer" during her short playing career.She spent time at Arsenal's academy before embarking on a senior career with spells at Willem II, Djurgardens and Linkoping, where she won the Dutch title in 2016.However, a game against England later that year would prove to be her last as she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury - the second of her career."I didn't make the decision [to retire] straight away," Slegers said."Jodie Taylor scored the one nil for England in the fourth minute and I hadn't touched the ball yet, so I wanted to press - but that was when [the injury] happened."It meant she would miss the European Championship on Dutch soil the following summer, a tournament which the Netherlands went on to win."That was a really hard one to take. They ended up winning the Euros at their home ground so I was more thinking about that - I didn't know about my future," Slegers added."I had been struggling a lot with injuries, not only the two ACLs but a lot of other injuries, and I decided in my rehab period that I need to listen to my body and it needs to work the rest of my life. So I made the decision to stop playing."
Arsenal will use 'strong bond' to derby advantage
Slegers and her side return to Emirates Stadium on Sunday for the second north London derby of the season.The Gunners ran out 3-0 winners when they visited Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November, but Slegers insists her players have to "focus on the task"."They need their mind and their legs in the game for those 90 minutes, but of course the players understand what this game is," she said."They will see the crowd and the crowd is part of us as well, which I think is what's so special about Arsenal - it has a real connection with the players and the fans that you can see very clearly. "There's a strong bonding so we'll definitely use that on Sunday to do our best and it will give us that bit of extra energy."Watch Football Focus on Saturday, 15 February at 12:00 GMT on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app.