When Wolfsburg lifted their second successive Women’s Champions League title in 2014, it looked like a period of dominance was coming.
Ralf Kellermann’s side became the first German team to win the treble when they defeated Tyreso 4-3 in Lisbon, their starting XI featuring just one player over the age of 30.
But the period of dominance that followed wasn’t one for Wolfsburg; it was one for Lyon.
Since 2016, the French giants have won every edition of the competition – with their sights set on an incredible fifth title in a row this season.
If anyone can stop them, it’s Wolfsburg. Runners-up in 2016 and 2018, the pair met in last season’s quarter-finals, producing an incredible tie which the German side lost 6-3 on aggregate.
Their not-so-secret weapon? The deadliest goal-scoring duo in the game: Pernille Harder and Ewa Pajor.
“She’s an amazing player and also a player who doesn’t get as much focus as she should, so it’s really good that she’s on this list – she really deserves it,” Harder tells Goal of her Polish team-mate, who places at No.21 in this year’s Goal 50 while the Dane stars at No.5.
“She’s really fast. Not that I’m slow – I’m just not as fast as Ewa! She reads the game well and we have a really good connection. I really enjoy playing with her.”
That connection has proven fruitful for Wolfsburg. The pair netted 44 per cent of their club’s goals in the league last year, which resulted in a third successive title – and the accolade of top goalscorer for Pajor, with 24 goals in 19 games.
“We connect really well,” says Harder, who top-scored in the Champions League last year.
“I think we also complement each other really well because are two different types of player.”
Pajor, five years younger than Harder, is quick to return the compliment, but it’s not only the Dane she is learning from in Germany.
Alexandra Popp started both of Wolfsburg’s Champions League triumphs, scoring in the 2014 final, and the 28-year-old has had a huge influence on Pajor.
“They are both very good players who you can learn a lot from,” she says. “When I was younger, I always paid attention to what Alexandra was doing.
“I wanted to base myself on her and it is still the case today. In training, I watch them closely, because you can learn all the time.
“I still have a lot of room for improvement, so I'm happy to play with them.”
Something Pajor will have noted from both is their relentless winning mentality.
“We’re not satisfied,” Harder says, reflecting on last season – one she describes as a “good” one after Wolfsburg won another domestic double, but nothing more.
“Then we have the Champions League, when we went out to Lyon. In the end, Lyon won the Champions League, but we’re not satisfied with that part.”
Pajor echoes that frustration.
“We want to bring three titles to Wolfsburg every year,” she says.
“The past is behind us. My focus is entirely on the current season.”
To dethrone the winning machine that Lyon have become will be difficult.
This summer, the French side grew stronger, adding the likes of Nikita Parris and Janice Cayman to their ranks.
But overcoming challenges is something that both Pajor and Harder have been doing since they were kids.
“It used to be difficult because I could only play with the boys,” Pajor says.
“Today, it looks very different, but back then, not many girls wanted to play football.”
The 22-year-old would get her reward, though, breaking into Medyk Konin’s first team at just 15 – becoming the youngest player to play in the division as a result.
“It was exhausting,” she laughs. “In the first few games I only played a few minutes at a time, but that became more and more over time.
“Even in the dressing room, it was not always easy. I was 15; other players were 30.
“I was scared at the beginning. I was very nervous and had a lot of respect, because I never thought I would play in the first team at the age of 15.
“If I can be a role model for some girls [in Poland], it makes me happy.
“I just want to give everything in every game and show these girls that even a woman can play football.”
Harder has been at the forefront of change in Denmark too, part of the team that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2013 and the final four years later.
“After the Euros in 2017, a lot happened, just in the way that people looked at women’s football,” she says. “The respect for is really there now.”
And, in the process, Harder achieved the two dreams that she outlined as a young girl.
“I have always had the dream, first of all to be on the national team for Denmark, and then I always had the dream of being a professional football player,” she recalls.
“I remember an assignment in school when I was 10 years old, where I had to write where I would be in 10 years.
“I wrote that I would be a professional football player and one of the best in the world.”
Now, young girls can aspire to be the next Pajor or Harder – creating female role models that neither had growing up.
“There was very little women's football on TV during my childhood, so I found my role model in [Cristiano] Ronaldo,” Pajor explains.
“When I first saw him play on TV, I just thought 'Wow!' He's the best player in the world and I'm always trying to watch his games and learn something.”
While Harder may not idolise Ronaldo so much that she copies his celebration like her team-mate – “sometimes it just happens out of emotion!” Pajor laughs – the Dane also looks up to the Juventus star.
“I watch a lot of football,” Harder says. “I watch, for example, Ronaldo, how he runs into the box. I try to learn from the very best.
“I watch a lot of Premier League and I like to see [Raheem] Sterling play and also [Sadio] Mane in Liverpool. I like those types of players.”
For all the records broken, dreams achieved and titles won, though, Ronaldo and Mane are among those who have the one thing Pajor and Harder still long for: a Champions League winners’ medal.
“We are really hungry for the Champions League trophy,” Harder says. “We have the goals of winning the league and the cup, but also the Champions League.
“They’re high goals, but we have the potential to win it all.”
Pajor agrees: “I always say that titles with the team are the most important to me.
“If I can help with my goals, all the better.”