Ada Hegerberg

At 29 years old, Ada Hegerberg has this physical status:

Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg (born 10 July 1995) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Division 1 Féminine club Olympique Lyonnais.

She has previously played for Kolbotn and Stabæk in Toppserien. Hegerberg has represented Norway at the youth international level, and made her debut for the senior team in 2011.

In 2013, she was a part of the silver medalist team at the 2013 UEFA Women's Championship.

She was on team Norway at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2017 UEFA Women's Championship. Hegerberg was awarded the 2016 UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award on 25 August 2016, and in 2017 and 2019 was named BBC Women's Footballer of the Year.

In 2018 she was the first-ever recipient of the Ballon d'Or Féminin.

She holds the record for most goals in a UEFA Champions League season (15).

Personal life

In June 2019, Hegerberg married Thomas Rogne.

In May 2020, in an online interview with ESPN, Hegerberg said that women's football would suffer due to COVID-19 because it is the sport's "weakest link". "We're kind of at the stage where we're still in need of that help and when you see football as a whole and the men's football is struggling you can also imagine yourself how the women's football is affected of this." Hegerberg stressed not losing track of women's football, especially as positives have emerged in terms of support for the game: "We need to raise our voices obviously to keep the subject warm."

The Norwegian is one of the most in-demand athletes in the world. After being awarded the Ballon d'Or in 2018, Hegerberg became an ambassador for the watchmaker Hublot, as well as the financial technology company Mastercard. During the summer of 2019, after attending events such as the UEFA Champions League Final and the French Open for her sponsor Mastercard, she became the global ambassador of the Danone Nations Cup, the biggest international tournament of U12, for both girls and boys. In the summer of 2020, after six years collaborating with sports equipment supplier Puma, Nike and herself announced a long-term partnership. The American giant immediately elevated Hegerberg in multiple marketing campaigns, reinforcing its will to support activism, Hegerberg being known as a gender equality and sustainability activist.

Hegerberg has had a massive media impact over the past years, widely considered as the number one spokesperson for her sport, given the numerous interviews she gave for women's football.

On 19 November 2020, the US-based streaming platform ESPN+ published a documentary about Hegerberg: My Name is Ada Hegerberg.

Hegerberg has been named one of the most powerful women in sport by a number of media, including Sports Illustrated.

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Club career

Hegerberg was born in Molde but she grew up in Sunndals,ra, where she competed for Sunndal Fotball with her older sister Andrine. The sisters later joined Kolbotn, Illinois, where they lived in 2007.

She made her Kolbotn debut in 2010. Ra were defeated 4–1 on August 6, 2011, with Andrine scoring the last goal. Aged 16, she was the youngest player to have scored a hat-trick in Toppserien. Although she was only 16 years old, she was named league's top scorer in the 2011 Toppserien season and named league Young Player of the Year. Both Hegerberg sisters joined Stabk ahead of the 2012 season. During a match against Fart in May 2012, she scored five goals in the first half of Stab's 8–2 victory. The sisters were deemed two of Norway's top players, and Ada was named the second time in May 2012 with the Statoil "Talent of the Month" award. She scored 25 goals in 18 matches in the 2012 Toppserien, becoming the top goalscorer in the game. In the 2012 Norwegian Women's Cup semi-finals, she scored two goals, when Amazon Grimstad was defeated 3–0. Hegerberg scored a hat-trick in Stab's 4–0 final victory over Ra.

She and her sister joined the German side 1 in 2013. FFC Potsdam is a football team that has competed with Maren Mjelde from the 30th of June to the world champion of their countrywoman Maren Mjelde. SC Freiburg defeated 21-01 in Hegerberg's debut in her Bundesliga debut. The Hegerbergs and Turbine finished second in both the 2012–13 Bundesliga and the 2012–13 DFB-Pokal in their first season in Germany.

She moved to Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2014. Hegerberg's first season in France was a huge success. She scored 26 goals in 22 league games, leading Lyon to their ninth straight Division 1 Féminine title. Hegerberg scored the tying goal in the 47th minute, resulting in a 2–1 victory over Montpellier in the Coupe de France Féminine Final.

Hegerberg returned to Lyon in 2015 for the 2015-16 campaign. In Lyon's 5–0 victory over PSG, she scored a hat-trick on September 27th. Hegerberg was the first player to score a hat-trick against PSG since Julie Morel in October 2008. Hegerberg and the club reached an agreement in November on a contract extension to keep the team in the 2019 season. Lyon held the league for the tenth time in a row on May 8th. Hegerberg was the league's top scorer in 21 appearances this season, scoring 33 goals in 21 appearances. Hegerberg and Lyon's Hegerberg won the Coupe de France a week later. Lyon defeated the competition in UEFA Women's Champions League action, defeating Hegerberg's 13 goals in 9 games to win the tournament, ending the tie.

Hegerberg was the first ever winner of the Ballon d'Or Féminin on December 3rd. However, there was controversies during the evening, as Hegerberg, the event's host, asked Hegerberg how to twerk and "knew how to twerk" after she learned the award, who replied "no." His remarks were dismissed as misogyne in the media; he later apologised for his remark. "He came to me afterwards and was really sad that it went this way," Hegerberg later said. I didn't really think about it sexual assault or anything at the time. I was just excited to dance and win the Ballon d'Or." "It's amazing." She expressed surprise at her award and added, "It's amazing." This is a great motivator to keep working hard, and it will continue to compete together to gain more titles. I wanted to end with some words for teenage girls around the world: believe in yourself.

Lyon defeated Hegerberg 5–0 on April 13, a major individual appearance, before going head to head with Paris Saint-Germain all season long. Lyon took the award ten days later. Hegerberg was involved in two of the three goals in the final against Lille OSC, scoring his first goal of the Coupe de France semi-final against Grenoble Foot 38.

Hegerberg made a Player of the Match appearance in the 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League Final on May 18th. She became the first player to score three goals in a UWCL final with a hat-trick in just 16 minutes. Lyon won the treble against Barcelona 4–1, winning their fourth UWCL trophy in a row, marking a remarkable achievement in modern football. Hegerberg had won 13 out of 15 out of the 15 trophies possible during her time with Lyon by the end of the season.

After scoring her 53rd goal in her 50th appearance in her 50th appearance, she became the UEFA Women's Champions League all-time top scorer on October 30.

Hegerberg sustained an injury before Lyon's appearance in Stade de Reims on January 26, 2020. Later, she had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament, which was confirmed by an MRI scan. The club announced on January 28 that she would miss at least the remainder of the season. The season was only a few weeks after the COVID-19 breakthrough.

On December 18, 2020, she signed a contract extension with Lyon, keeping her at the club until June 2024. In a later press release from the club, Hegerberg will not be available before the 2021-22 season.

Hegerberg, who spent 21 months on the sidelines, played the final 12 minutes in Lyon's 3–0 victory over BK Häcken in the UEFA Champions League group stage's opening match on October 5th. With a brace against arch-rival Paris Saint-Germain on November 14th, one of the biggest games in women's football, she scored her first goals post-injury.

She was instrumental in the qualification of her team into the Champions League in April 2022, being credited with an assist in a 3–2 win over Paris Saint-Germain and scoring the first goal in a national record 43,000 fans at the Parc des Princes. She scored a goal and had an assist in her 3–1 victory over Barcelona in the final, her sixth title in the tournament.

International career

Hegerberg, who was under the age of 15, was on team Norway under 19 that competed in the 2011 UEFA Women's U-19 Championships. She was also in the squad for the final tournament, where Norway advanced to the final. Hegerberg was on team Norway, which won the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in 2012 for the quarter-finals. In a 2–1 win over Canada in the group stage, She and Andrine scored the goals. In a 3–1 loss to Northern Ireland in Lurgan on 19 November 2011, she made her senior debut for Norway as a substitute.

Hegerberg made her championship debut on team Norway, who competed in the 2013 UEFA Women's Championship; a 1–1 draw with Iceland on July 11, 2013. Spain defeated 3-1 in the quarter-finals and played the entire 90 minutes as Norway lost the final 1–0 to Germany. She scored her first goal in the tournament.

Hegerberg was on Team Norway at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She scored three goals in three group stage games, highlighted by a two-goal win over the Ivory Coast. For her performances, Hegerberg was selected for the Best Young Player Award.

Hegerberg received the 2015 Norwegian Gold Ball, Norway's best footballer. It was the first time a woman was given the award 20 years ago.

Hegerberg decided not to represent the national team as a form of protest in the summer of 2017, following a spat with the NFF over how they treat women's football. Despite some changes, including the doubleding of the women's remuneration pot, Hegerberg said that "still a long way to go" so he refused to be called up and missed out on the 2019 World Cup. Her time with the national team was described as "deeply sad," giving her "nightmares" and leaving her "mentally distraught."

Hegerberg's five-year absence from the national team came to an end in March 2022. Hegerberg lost 5–1 against Kosovo in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, on her first game back in April 7th.

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