“Renée Slegers, take a bow,” wrote the official UEFA Women’s Champions League page on X. A picture of Arsenal Women’s Football Club coach Renée Slegers accompanied their post. The Dutch coach smiled as she held the Champions League Trophy. After years of trying to replicate the glory of the 2006-07 season when they won their first UWCL, AWFC finally lifted the trophy after a rollercoaster ride.

While Selgers and stars like captain Kim Little and Leah Williamson were under the brightest lights, the Gunners’ UWCL journey became the stage for the redemption arc for an American coach. That coach is none other than the former Brighton & Hove Albion FC coach Melissa Phillips. Yes! That Melissa Phillips that Brighton sacked after just 10 months. The “results and performances have not been at the level we had expected, given that investment,” Brighton said in February 2024.

While Phillips couldn’t lift the team out of the bottom of the 12-team WSL, she did save Brighton from relegation when all was said and done. The Brighton job was important for the current Head of Analysis/Coach Analyst at Arsenal WFC. After all, she left Angle City FC for the position. “My partner worked here years ago when the men’s team were in League One,” she said as per the Mirror. So the firing came as a shock, but Phillips moved on.

Now, just 15 months later, Melissa Phillips has helped Arsenal break a nearly two-decade drought at the UWCL. Now two-time champions, the only English team to win the UWCL title had struggled for years to get their hands on a second trophy. Despite always being part of the conversation, consistently making near the top of the pack, AWFC always fell short.

While their triumph was undoubtedly a team effort, Melissa Phillips, who had also coached the WSL 2 team London City Lionesses, played a vital role behind the scenes. “An American who has battled through the English coaching pyramid—proves that light can follow darkness,” wrote The Women’s Game, sharing a snapshot of Phillips with the team. What’s more? Few believed Phillip’s team could pull off the historic feat when the season started.

Arsenal Women were the underdogs like Melissa Phillips

Just like the former NWSL assistant coach, the Gunners looked rocky when they entered the Champions League season. While they qualified and entered the competition in September 2024, the team almost immediately stumbled. The English had to digest a 5-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in October 2024. However, Renée Slegers wasn’t at the helm back then.

In fact, that loss became the final contribution of then-manager Jonas Eidevall. Slegers, who was Arsenal’s assistant coach under Eidevall, moved up to become head coach. Suddenly, the English team found themselves in the middle of a UWCL season with a new manager. Melissa Phillips was also relatively new as the team’s Head of Analysis back then. So their season became an uphill climb.

Meanwhile, the women of Barcelona looked as formidable as ever. The two-time defending champions were looking for a three-peat and blitzing through the competition at home and on the international stage. “Arsenal came into this as complete underdogs. You’re talking about a team that has dominated, won the past two Champions Leagues, stormed to the final, incredible aggregate scores against Bayern Munich and Chelsea, who dominated the WSL this year,” said Arsenal defender Jen Beattie.

Just how dominant was FC Barcelona Femení in their home league, you ask? Well, the team came into the Champions League final having scored 128 goals in 30 league games. Yet the defending UWCL couldn’t score a single goal against the underdogs. Instead, it was Stina Blackstenius who scored the winning and only goal of the match as AWFC blanked Barcelona to win the crown. Truly historic! So, what did you think of Melissa Phillips and Arsenal Women beating the odds? Tell us in the comments.