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On Sunday, the star of the Norwegian team will play the final of the Champions League against Lyon. Before the game, the team is subject to strict restrictions.
The final will be played in the beautiful San Sebastián. The Spanish city is known for its beautiful architecture and rich gastronomic traditions, but Engen and his teammates have little time to enjoy the city’s attractions.
– We live isolated in the hotel. There are some rules that we must follow. We live in private rooms, we have to wear gloves everywhere and we have to stay away from crowds, Engen tells NRK, who at the same time says that traveling is allowed.
UNTIL THE FINAL: Ingrid Syrstad Engen with Fridolina Rolfö in the final stadium in Spain.
Photo: PRIVATE
– A lot of football sometimes
He then uses the phone to call Melhus’s family home in Trøndelag. Talks to help her relax before the biggest battle of her career.
– Can you get a little weird before the final?
– Yes, sometimes there will be one. But I call home to talk about everything and nothing. Parents and siblings show up no matter what, he says.
– With dad (Ørjan Engen) there will be some football. But it’s good to talk about other things. Down here there can be a lot of football sometimes. Changing the subject is nice, he says.
COMFORT: Ingrid Syrstad Engen has become a key player in the national team. Here she is comforted by mother Gudrun Syrstad after the defeat to France in the World Cup last year.
Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB scanpix
– The greatest you can experience
The Trønder girl had her breakthrough during the World Cup in France last summer. The former Trondheims-Ørn and LSK Kvinner player prepared for Wolfsburg, the top European club, after the World Cup.
She says the Champions League final is a “dream come true”
– It is the highest level we can play at. The final challenge, and the greatest one to experience, says the Norwegian national team player.
Wolfsburg prepared for the final after a 1-0 win over Barcelona in the semi-final. Lyon prepared for the big showdown after French national team star Wendie Renard scored the winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain.
DANGEROUS: Wendie Renard celebrates the winning goal in Lyon’s semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Photo: Pool / Reuters
– Enjoy the moment
The hours before the game are used to plan how to block the great French team.
– Renard becomes important to stop. It was decided by a set piece in the semifinals. They have match winners in the front and back, and they are a complete team, Engen says.
Lyon can claim their fifth consecutive Champions League title. Wolfsburg have been eliminated by Lyon in the last four years. Two gongs in the final (2016 and 2018).
CELEBRATION: Wolfsburg players on the player bus in San Sebastián.
Photo: PRIVATE
Wolfsburg won the first two women’s Champions League finals in 2013 and 2014. It can be safely said that these are the two dominant teams in women’s football.
– It will be a very special feeling anyway. During the game, I enter my own special bubble. I don’t know if I’ll ever experience this again, so I just have to enjoy the moment.
