Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg (Molde, July 10, 1995) is considered one of the best players in the world. All-time top scorer in the Champions League at just 26 years old and the first Golden Ball in the history of women’s football, the Norwegian suffered a serious injury that kept her off the pitch for almost two years. She has returned to try to make Olympique de Lyon queen again in Europe. Hegerberg speaks to AS before the semi-final against PSG.
After an ordeal with injuries, the Ada Hegerberg we all knew has returned, how much longer does she have to reach her best level?
This is a process. Sometimes I forget that I returned in October, that in the end I have been away for 20 months. I am giving myself time, having a lot of patience, which I have never had before. I am enjoying myself, taking small steps every day working on small details to improve and that are very important to me. I am convinced that with time, hard work and attention to detail I can get back to where I want to be.
On Saturday they will play for the pass to the Champions League final against their closest rival in France, PSG, after a crazy game in the first leg that they won 3-2, how do they face this second and definitive duel?
It is a very important game, very complicated too. We are very focused on this week’s game because going to Paris, to that full stadium, is one of those games that you train for. We have to be prepared mentally, tactically and physically, and leave everything on the pitch. We are going to have to work very hard because it will not be easy.
It will also be at the Parc des Princes and a grand entrance is expected. Does the adverse environment give extra motivation or does it scare you?
I think it gives us much more motivation, that’s why we play, that’s why we train every day. It is always important to play in a stadium with a lot of people, be it at home or away. Playing in a stadium like this is good for football as such and it will be a fantastic challenge for us.
Women’s football is showing that it is interesting, without going any further with the two records in just a few weeks and more than 91 thousand spectators in the stands, what do you think?
It’s amazing, very inspiring. It’s something we work for all over the world. We hope it will become commonplace, maintaining stability in terms of fans’ access to matches.
The growth of women’s football is unstoppable and part of the blame lies with bets like DANZ taking it to all houses, what do you think of the channel’s bet and these records?
I speak from my heart and I believe that the arrival of DAZN acquiring the rights to the UEFA Women’s Champions League, creating a platform with which anyone has access to the matches, completely changes not only the Champions League but all of European football. It’s something we’ve been waiting for a long time, and the number of views on DAZN since the beginning shows that only one platform was missing because people really want to watch the matches of the Women’s Champions League.
Barcelona seem to be the rival to beat right now and they already have the final almost in their pocket, what do you think of the Barça team?
Barcelona is very strong. They play entertaining football, they have built a project on the same group of players, on the same game system… It is a very strong team.
They want revenge after 4-0 in the 2019 final, what do you think a hypothetical final against them would be like?
It is very difficult to even think about the final before reaching it. We must keep our focus on the right things and not lose it on things that haven’t even happened yet. We have a game ahead of us against PSG in Paris, which is the biggest challenge we’ve faced in a long time. We don’t have anything guaranteed and we have to focus on doing the best we can because it’s going to be very complicated.
His name has always been linked to the claim for equality, in fact he refused to play with his team even missing the 2019 World Cup. Now he has returned, what has convinced him to return?
There have been long conversations about the challenges of Norwegian football. With the arrival of a new president of the Norwegian Federation, Lise Klaveness, who I used to play with when I was younger and who also had some difficulties with the Federation during her time as a player, I felt that I was talking to a person who had faced to the same challenges and could understand them. Through those conversations, through that good relationship, I decided it was time to go back. I’ve missed the games but also connecting with the next generations having the opportunity to represent your country, which is amazing. I felt it was time.
And the audience records on DANZ show that women’s football is of interest. Do you think the European Championship could mark a turning point?
All tournaments in recent years have exceeded expectations. There has been good media coverage, great interest throughout the tournament. That’s why I think the next challenge is to find out how to achieve a long-term ‘momentum’. If you have all those players playing for the top clubs in the Champions League with DAZN, it might be possible to keep that interest.