Ada Hegerberg exclusive: 'Little village' Lyon are far from finished as Ballon d'Or winner eyes another Women's Champions League title by taking down all-conquering Barcelona
The Norway forward is eyeing her seventh continental crown in Bilbao on Saturday as she insists rumours of the French club's demise are incorrect
Ada Hegerberg is one of the greats. At 28 years old, she’s a six-time Women’s Champions League winner, the competition’s all-time top goal-scorer and was the recipient of the first-ever Ballon d’Or Feminin. You get to those levels by being wonderfully talented and extremely committed to the sport, rather than focusing on any outside noise, but the only way she could’ve avoided talk of Lyon, the eight-time European champions, being written off over the years is by living under a rock.
Such suggestions were perhaps at their strongest in 2021, when Paris Saint-Germain dethroned OL in France for the first time and also knocked their bitter rivals out in the Champions League quarter-finals. But three years on, Lyon are still here and on Saturday, in the final against Barcelona, they are chasing a second European title in the past three seasons. Overall, it would be a record-extending ninth triumph.
All six that Hegerberg has been involved in over the past decade have presented their own unique challenges which Lyon have overcome by adapting and evolving, and that continues today. Having had the financial backing from the club early on to be successful, others have closed the gap, including Saturday’s opponents. Yet, OL remain right at the top of the game.
“That’s what I'm most proud of because every year, it's been like, 'Now they're off, now they're losing it', but here we are still and we're going to be pressing for many, many years,” Hegerberg tells GOAL. “I feel like Lyon has kind of been the big dog, but at the same time, it's becoming like a little village fighting against all these big clubs and their economy coming in, which is also cool in some way. We had an advantage, but we kind of lost that, even though we stayed at the top, and now we're fighting on a different level again. I enjoy it.”
Players don’t need extra motivation to win a European title, but it certainly adds a little fuel to the fire when a group of players who have been there and done it all multiple times over still get overlooked by some. “That's why you need to keep winning,” Hegerberg says, “to keep the record straight.”
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When Lyon and Barca met in the final two years ago, there was a feeling that all the talk on the outside was about the Catalans, who were going for back-to-back titles after winning their first 12 months prior. Understandably, it didn’t sit particularly well with those representing a side which had won a seventh European crown only a year before that their achievements were being overlooked in some cases.
Two years on, as the two prepare to face off again, the narrative feels different, especially after Lyon beat Barca in the 2022 final. However, Hegerberg still doesn’t think OL's incredible dynasty is “talked about enough”.
“I know it feeds the club. I know it feeds the players,” she tells GOAL. “That's the most important thing. Every year, we start fresh. But we know the history we have and honestly, as long as it feeds us and makes us prepared to go again and again and again, that's what's most important. Let the football talk in the end, because that's what counts.”
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Perhaps it is that recency bias that is so often seen in all sports, perhaps it is because Barca’s rise has coincided with a huge growth in visibility for the women’s game or perhaps it is because some people genuinely believed Lyon’s time was coming to an end. Regardless, the French giants certainly reminded everyone of their quality when they won the Champions League in 2022, and they have done the same again with their run to this year’s final.
Another match-up with Barca awaits, the third time they will meet on this grand stage, and it is Lyon with the psychological edge after triumphing in those previous two meetings. The Catalans are more experienced than ever in their bid to finally get one over OL, though, and you could argue that this is their best squad to date. It’s all playing its part in creating an incredible new rivalry, one which will push both teams to get even better. “At the moment, you can say it's the two best teams in Europe,” Hegerberg believes. “It's as easy as that.”
'Greats recognise greats'
Despite what might’ve been said on the outside over the years, there is plenty of respect between these two incredible teams, too. “I think greats recognise greats. It’s always been like that,” Hegerberg says.
That much was certainly apparent when the striker sat down with Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen for UEFA’s latest episode. “You have a packed team with fantastic players,” Hegerberg told her Norway team-mate. “I have a long history with Irene Paredes, because she used to play in PSG. I feel like we had a lot of battles during the years. She’s very tough to play against, but we have a great relationship outside the pitch, as it should be.”
“I've never talked with Selma Bacha but I've played against her a lot and it's always super tough,” Graham Hansen responded, previewing the battle with the Lyon full-back. “I love how she plays. I will probably face her one-on-one the whole game.”
“I catch up with Caro during the season,” Hegerberg tells GOAL. “We like to re-watch our games. But obviously, from both sides, before a game like this, we don't speak at all, which is completely normal and that's how it should be. Then we promised each other one thing, that the loser gets an assist or two from the other, hopefully, in the national-team break. But now it's all about winning for the respective teams and that is all that counts at the moment.
“She's had a top season,” she adds of the Barca winger. “Let's hope that she's not in the best form of her life on Saturday! But I'm happy for her because she's been brilliant.”
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Over the years, there have been plenty of rumours suggesting that Hegerberg could even join Graham Hansen in Barcelona, with the Catalans reportedly holding interest in the striker on a number of occasions. However, all speculation was put to rest last month when the 28-year-old signed a new three-year deal in Lyon.
“I felt like I wasn't done in Lyon,” Hegerberg explains. “The most important thing was for me to be in a place where I feel I can get the best out of myself and win as many titles as possible. There was no doubt from the beginning. It took some time to get where we wanted but I must say I have a huge amount of gratefulness towards Michele [Kang, majority owner] and Vincent Ponsot [CEO of OL Feminin] who basically made it impossible for me to even consider something else, because they showed a will to keep me that made it clear to me that I'm here to stay another three years, which is crazy. That means almost my whole career in Lyon – and then we'll see after that.”