When Ada became the first ever Women’s Ballon d’Or winner
“’Ada, can you keep a secret?’ That was the start of this fantastic dream. One of my assistant coaches at Olympic Lyonnaise had called me into his office after training,” writes Ada Hegerberg, the first ever Women’s Ballon d’Or winner as she recalls the story of her triumph while writing for the Players’ Tribune.
In an embarrassing turn of events, the footballer was asked if she can ‘twerk’ when she went up to the podium to receive the greatest of individual award that football has to offer. Ada, who helped lead Lyon win the Women's Champions League last season, looked embarrassed and answered "no". It put a mark on the event and caused outrage. But this story, the one Ada wrote, is something bigger, something wonderful. It’s the story of her triumph and it begins from two weeks before the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
“Listen, you can’t tell anyone,” the assistant coach continued in his office.
"I said, “O.K.?”
"He said, “You’re not going to tell anyone?”
"I said, “I’m not going to tell anyone.”
"And then he just said it ….
"He said, “You’re going to win the Ballon d’Or.”
“When you hear those words, 7,000 images start flashing in your mind. Because it was not just the Ballon d’Or. It was the first-ever women’s Ballon d’Or. So it was completely overwhelming. I started crying and laughing at the same time,” she wrote.
Ada could only keep the secret for another 10 minutes.
“As soon as I got to my car, I FaceTimed my mom and dad, who were actually visiting my older sister, Andrine, at PSG. They were out walking around Paris at the time, so my mom was pointing the camera around one of the boulevards, like, Look, honey!
"I said, “Mom, you’re not going to believe this.”
"She flipped the camera back around, and her face was full of Mom Concern."
"She said, “What happened now? Are you O.K.?!”
"I said, “Mom, I’m going to win the Ballon d’Or.”
"And she just started crying."
"My dad was shaking his head in disbelief.
When we hung up, I just sat in my car in silence, thinking, This can’t be true. This must be a dream,” she told the story of how she let her parents know," she wrote.
The experience with the presenter did not affect her. She told the story of how she bonded with Roberto Carlos at the Ballon d’Or event.
“The 2018 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony was much bigger than me. This was not my moment. This was our moment. This is why I couldn’t sleep at night. This is why my heart was beating out of my chest when I arrived at the ceremony.
“But then something incredible happened. Something I will remember for 200 years.
“As soon as I sat down, I felt someone tap the back of my chair. I heard, “Hey! Ada! Ada!” You know when you were in primary school and your friend would tap the back of your chair to tell you a secret? It was like that. I turned around, and it was Roberto Carlos.
“He had a big smile. He said, “Ada! It’s me again!”
“When I won the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award in 2016, Roberto was sitting right behind me that night, too. So we talked a lot that night in a funny mixture of English, Spanish, Portuguese and hand gestures, and we became friends. He has so much respect for the women’s game, and he’s so funny. So as soon as I saw him again and we started talking, my shoulders dropped. I totally relaxed.
I was surrounded by love and respect. I was surrounded by footballers. Legends. People who understood the sacrifice. I couldn’t stop smiling," she wrote in the very personal interview.
She was getting tired of having to sit down with the big trophy and she ended up keeping it on the floor under her seat. Carlos was once again in hand to help her out.
“He said, “Here, I’ll protect it for you.” He stretched out his arms like, Here, give me the baby. I will hold her.
“I couldn’t stop laughing. I gave him the Ballon d’Or and he held it in his arms for most of the night, protecting it.
“Roberto Carlos! I was thinking, This can’t be real. This is a dream,” she recalled about the most eventful night of her life.
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