{"id":28070,"date":"2026-05-22T15:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/28070\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:38:17","slug":"ingrid-engen-uwcl-final-vs-former-side-barcelona-is-about-the-football-and-nothing-else-her-football-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/28070\/","title":{"rendered":"Ingrid Engen: UWCL final vs former side Barcelona is &#8216;about the football and nothing else&#8217; \u2013 Her Football Hub"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ol-lyonnes-v-vfl-wolfsburg-uefa-womens-champions-league-2025-26-quarter-finals-second-leg-1-scaled.j.webp\" class=\"attachment-mh-magazine-content size-mh-magazine-content wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" title=\"OL Lyonnes v VfL Wolfsburg - UEFA Women's Champions League 2025\/26 Quarter-finals Second Leg\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/><br \/>\nDECINES-CHARPIEU, FRANCE &#8211; APRIL 02: Ingrid Engen of OL Lyonnes poses for a selfie with fans following the UEFA Women&#8217;s Champions League 2025\/26 Quarter-finals Second Leg match between OL Lyonnes and VfL Wolfsburg at OL Stadium on April 02, 2026 in Decines-Charpieu, France. (Photo by Pauline Figuet\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OL Lyonnes star Ingrid Engen is preparing to face former club Barcelona in the UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League final, having lifted the trophy twice with the Catalan side.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alongside her two UWCL titles, the Norway international has claimed 15 other major trophies in her career so far. This weekend, she will challenge for a third European title with new club Lyon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sg-ai-highlighted-block wp-block-paragraph\">The European powerhouses have held the <a href=\"https:\/\/herfootballhub.com\/inside-the-success-of-ol-lyonnes-europes-most-decorated-football-dynasty\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UWCL title a record eight times<\/a> and will be searching for a ninth against Barcelona on Saturday. Meanwhile, Barca will be looking to reclaim their crown after relinquishing it to Arsenal last season.<\/p>\n<p>Ingrid Engen  and Jonatan Gir\u00e1ldez prepare to face former club Barcelona<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Engen isn\u2019t the only familiar name preparing to face former club Barcelona. <a href=\"https:\/\/herfootballhub.com\/uwcl-final-ol-lyonnes-manager-jonatan-giraldez-previews-fc-barcelona\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">OL Lyonnes manager Jonatan Gir\u00e1ldez<\/a> managed the three-time UWCL champions between 2021 and 2024, and was a coach at the club prior to that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe has his ideas of how he wants his team to play, a lot of these things I recognise and remember from when we were at Barcelona together,\u201d Engen said when asked about Gir\u00e1ldez managing her at both clubs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cObviously he\u2019s adapted to the players we have here. He\u2019s managing to play his type of football with his ideas, but of course with a focus on the strengths we have here at this team and the players that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2154634546.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38927\"  \/>BILBAO, SPAIN \u2013 MAY 25: Jonatan Giraldez, at San Mames Stadium on May 25, 2024 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Friendships and loyalties put away for the UWCL final<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not only did Engen win the UWCL twice with Barcelona during her four-year stay, she also lifted the Liga F trophy four times, alongside five other domestic titles in a hugely successful era. That being said, there\u2019s no doubt of her ties to the city, the club and its players and staff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that in the game, you manage to turn everything else off,\u201d Engen said. \u201cI think then, once the game starts it\u2019s about the football and nothing else. Because of this I know them [the players] well. I also know what level they are and how good the players really are. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s going to be very, very interesting and obviously special to share the pitch with them. But, in the game, it\u2019s all about winning. For both teams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Experience to draw upon<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no shortage of experience Engen can call upon. It will be the third team the Norwegian international has played for in a European final, having previously won with Barcelona and also lost in a UWCL final with VfL Wolfsburg. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m very proud to have reached this many finals with the teams I\u2019ve played with,\u201d Engen said. \u201cI think it also shows my ambitions and choices in the clubs I\u2019ve chosen. I want to be where you really fight for the European title and I\u2019ve been very lucky and privileged to be in these three top teams in European football.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"456\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vfl-wolfsburg-womens-v-olympique-lyonnais-uefa-womens-champions-league-final.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38930\"  \/>SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN \u2013 AUGUST 30: Ingrid Syrstad Engen of VfL Wolfsburg walks past the UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League Trophy following her team\u2019s defeat in the UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League Final between VfL Wolfsburg Women\u2019s and Olympique Lyonnais at Estadio Anoeta on August 30, 2020 in San Sebastian, Spain. (Photo by Alvaro Barrientos\/Pool via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe thing that is different this time is, for myself, I have the experience. I think that\u2019s the thing, knowing how to prepare. How to confront a final like this. It\u2019s a special part of it that it happens to be against my old team, obviously, but that makes it maybe more special than before. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think I know how to deal with all the feelings and how to prepare myself as well as possible ahead of Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An Oslo homecoming for Norwegian stars<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norway boasts some of the greatest footballers currently in the game, so it\u2019s no surprise that so many will be playing in the UWCL final hosted in Oslo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OL Lyonnes have three Norwegian stars in Engen, 2018 Ballon d\u2019Or winner Ada Hegerberg, and youth prospect <a href=\"https:\/\/de.uefa.com\/womenschampionsleague\/clubs\/players\/250193717--elida-kolbjornsen\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elida Kolbj\u00f8rnsen<\/a>. Barcelona also have Norway legend Caroline Graham Hansen, who has scored more than 50 international goals for her country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think just this whole season, we [Engen and Hegerberg] have been thinking, it is so important to reach this final,\u201d Engen admitted. \u201cTo be able to live this final. Obviously when you start the game everything will be about winning this trophy for the club and fans. We are so happy to be able to just live through this final, in our country, in a stadium where we are so familiar. We will have lots of friends and family there, it will definitely be a very special occasion for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2265307808.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38931\"  \/>STAVANGER, NORWAY \u2013 MARCH 7: (l-r), Ingrid Syrstad Engen of Norway, Caroline Graham Hansen of Norway, Justine Kielland of Norway at Lyse Arena on March 7, 2026 in Stavanger, Norway. (Photo by Marius Nordnes \/ Nordnes Foto\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>How to watch the UWCL final between Barcelona and OL Lyonnes<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The final will be held at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo on Saturday, 23rd May. Swedish referee Tess Olofsson will helm the match between Barcelona and OL Lyonnes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can view the UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League final live on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.disneyplus.com\/en-gb\/browse\/page-a42e9a48-801a-4967-b50c-5da29f0be7c5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Disney+<\/a>\u00a0as part of existing customer subscriptions.<\/p>\n<p>Related articles from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/herfootballhub.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Her Football Hub<\/a>:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DECINES-CHARPIEU, FRANCE &#8211; APRIL 02: Ingrid Engen of OL Lyonnes poses for a selfie with fans following the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,9340,8099],"class_list":["post-28070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-ol-lyonnes","tag-uefa-womens-champions-league"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}