The narrative of women in sports often finds itself relegated to the sidelines to amplify their accomplishments and to weave a tapestry of stories that inspire and empower Our weekly column Latin Women in Sports seeks to applaud their triumphs SEATTLE - Ever since becoming the face of women's soccer at the global level Marta's story has served as an inspiration for an entire generation In a country were women's soccer was practically banned between 1941 to 1979 the Brazilian superstar overcame everything that was thrown in her path to climb to the top Marta had her first taste of professional soccer at the young age of 14 with Vasco da Gama playing for two years until her dream was cut short due to the increasing disapproval of Brazilian society towards women's soccer who went on to become the all-time goal scorer in the history of the Brazilian women's national team also surpassing Pelé's record in the men's side Marta grew up in the small town of Dois Riachos a municipality located in the east coast of Brazil She didn't have much more than a dream and an old pair of soccer boots In a letter written to herself in 2017 for The Players' Tribune Marta reflected on her journey and how much she had to overcome in order to be one of Brazil's finest She also had a message for her younger self and for all the girls around the world that were doubted of their talents Marta knew she had a role to play in expanding women's soccer Perhaps that has been Marta's biggest accomplishment in a hugely successful career: inspiring a generation her goals started a revolution that hasn't stopped since With her seven goals and five assists in the tournament Brazil reached the final for the very first time eliminating the United States on the way to the final Her performances in the World Cup earned her the second of six Women's Player of the Year awards Although a sad moment for the sport, Marta told CNN Brazil that she will retire from international soccer after the Olympics but that she is at peace with her decision "I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes," she said A development that started with the difficult decision of leaving her small town of Dois Riachos Twenty one years after her debut with the Brazilian national team Marta's contribution to the women's game cannot simply be put into words either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content her hometown in the Brazilian dust bowl in the northeastern state of Alagoas her team coach gave her a new pair of football boots as the only girl in a boys' club—in the whole league in fact—Marta had to prove herself in every match stuffed it in the toes and just played," she recalls she wore out those boots—and the skeptics as well where she toes the ball just over her defender's head to fetch it on the other side and then breaks for daylight leaving a pitch strewn with fallen opponents with an ease and grace that seem tailored for the instant replay This is part of what earned her yet another Ballon d'Or from FIFA last month becoming the only pro player—male or female—to win the international football federation's highest honor five years running But what makes her stand out is something else less photogenic perhaps but every bit as compelling Call it heart or grit or fome de bola—ball hunger—as the Brazilians put it the sheer determination to play and prevail against ridiculous odds lifted her from kick-abouts with the boys on a patch of Brazilian nowhere to the commanding heights of professional football "No one wants to win as much as Marta," says Alberto Montoya who coached her for the San Francisco Gold Pride the team she led to a Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league championship in 2010 "She's the most passionate player I have ever seen." It's no surprise that football fans are agog about yet another Brazilian This is the land that turned a 19th-century English pastime into ballet on grass Kaká's high-stepping through the enemy Robinho's glissades along the pitch as though on a pillow of air: it's all part of what Brazilians call futebol arte (art-football) "I prefer to play beautifully and lose than to win with a dull game," Telê Santana And at a time when the men's side is struggling—Brazil flamed out in the last two World Cups and has never won an Olympic gold medal—Marta has become the most eye-catching embodiment of Brazil's "beautiful game." the 25-year-old striker seems anything but a powerhouse least of all on the pitch in Europe or the U.S. where strapping defenders often tower over her but when players collide with her on field it's like running into a wall," says Montoya Standing 5'2" (1.6 meters) and weighing just 128 lbs (58 kilos) she might be—measure for measure—the most complete player in the game today and scoring with a dexterity and sleight of foot that appear at times to defy physics Consider her goal in Brazil's 4–0 drubbing of the U.S Marta flicked a pass over her left shoulder then wheeled right around her flummoxed opponent and then stutter-stepped past a second defender before pushing a shot by the prostrate goalkeeper Germany went on to beat Brazil in the final but that seven-second sequence (view it at http://bit.ly/gREGpt) went seriously viral on YouTube but to Marta it could have been a World Cup final she stole a ball near midfield and—as though channeling Pelé and Maradona together—slalomed through four defenders and sent the goalkeeper to her knees and the ball tenderly into the mesh "There's no other player in the world that can change direction and pace and then blow by you the way she does," says Montoya But Marta's greatest play was escaping home the lot of even the poorest Brazilians has vastly improved in Marta's lifetime Yet Dois Riachos looks like a place the new Brazil left behind this town lies in the maw of the sertão a harsh stretch of back country known for dust devils Those who wanted a profession taught school "Ever since I can remember I wanted to play football," she said in a recent interview but because she worked long hours as a superintendent at the town hall to keep her four children fed and clothed More than once she cut class to join a pickup game Any barren lot or dried-up riverbed would do "My mother heard the neighbors' comments and warned me to forget about football The boys of Dois Riachos were even less help but back then—and even now—the game that mattered was for guys "I remember having to fight just to play," she says "Some of my teammates thought it was shameful to play with girls." Marta shrugged off the hostile looks and comments and ran rings around most of her peers bringing home medals and tournament titles But playing in an all-male league also forced her to excel playing fast and hard and matching her skills and strength Her break came when a family friend living in Rio de Janeiro persuaded her to try her luck in the big city She took the bus to Rio and landed a tryout with Vasco da Gama She was 14 and had just one day to prove herself "There was no way I was going back to Dois Riachos," she says Marta made the cut and played two years with Vasco before moving on to another Brazilian club she was learning Swedish and playing midfield for Umeå Idrottsklubb (colloquially known as Umeå IK) and went on to capture her first three best-player trophies Marta was quickly becoming women's football's biggest brand and the logical place to go was the U.S.—the Brazil of women's football Playing for the Los Angeles Sol and then the Gold Pride—earning a reported $500,000 a year—she led the Bay Area club to a league championship and became a celebrity and the five best-selling games in the WPS all had Marta in them "Even fans that don't know about soccer knew they were seeing something special and rare when Marta was on the field," says WPS CEO Anne-Marie Eileraas And yet Marta's struggle for daylight is far from over teams she played for folded after the sponsors pulled the plug where soccer is booming in high schools and colleges—the sport has grown 225 percent among college students in the past two decades—women's pro football is still in a precarious state Now Marta will try her luck with the Western New York Flash Marta alone cannot change the fragile math of women's sports the best female players have to leave Brazil to earn a living a quiet revolution is sweeping the back country "The only sport that girls used to play was handball," she says "Now they all play football." The beautiful game may soon find its next Marta Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all Para ler em Português, clique aqui. Don’t think about it… How scared you are… How nervous you are… How everyone has said you can’t do it… That you shouldn’t do it… is going to take you on the three day’s drive to Rio de Janeiro This bus will leave behind your family and the 11,000 people in Dois Riachos This bus will leave flat dirt roads for green countryside that will turn to mountains and then the city This bus … is going to take you to your dream your dream of becoming a professional footballer And it’s going to take you to so much more It’s going to take you to European championships World Player of the Year awards (that’s not even a thing yet) It’s going to take you to stadiums where you’ll play in front of tens of thousands of people It’s going to take you to places where jerseys and boots will be made just for you and your arrival is going to mean something You’re going to be part of building the game in the U.S A part of making the game available to girls in a way that it wasn’t made available to you And it seems like a difficult decision to get on the bus You don’t even know for sure what will happen when you get to Rio But trust me when I say that after everything you’ve already gone through Cox/FIFA/Getty ImagesGrowing up in a small town like Dois Riachos you got weird looks and mean comments every day just because you were a girl There were no other girls in town playing football …and people made sure to let your mother know that she had to take care of the four of us kids she would catch the water to help grow food for the family to eat back home She never really got the chance to come to your games or watch you play Because every time — every single time — when someone in town came up to her She wasn’t there to show you any differently To show you how to “be a girl.” So all you know is watching football on TV and dreaming one day of playing professionally All you know is growing up and playing with the boys in town but only on a team with the players from the neighborhood who weren’t that good “I’ll play with whoever,” you tell them every time Because even when you were with the boys who couldn’t play very well you play in a short space and you think fast You know your talent right now isn’t enough to make it change And those moments — while the boys are in the locker room and you’re by yourself trying to tuck in your oversized football jersey into boys’ shorts that go well past your knees — they’re lonely Feng Li/Getty ImagesRemember that one tournament only a few weeks ago When your team from Dois Riachos played in Santana do Ipanema for a regional cup you’d even been recognized for your skill as one of the top players another coach from another team said if they have to play against you he’ll pull his whole team from the tournament I’d like to say that the organizers or your team stood up for you But we know that’s just not how it worked out So you were the one pulled from the tournament Do you still remember the tears welling up in your eyes I know it doesn’t make sense to you right now I know the question you ask yourself every day Fight to prove everyone wrong — everyone who thinks there is no place for girls on the pitch Because we both know it only takes one person to change things There’s a man named Marcos — he’s from Rio and friends with your older cousin Marcos knows some people and they’ve arranged for you to go to Rio with a chance to try out with the women’s side at Vasco da Gama And it’s more than you’ll have if you stay in Dois Riachos Roberto asked Marcos to set it up and he helped pay for the bus fare to get you the ticket I think he knows you can be something if you get out of Dois Riachos you’ll have to wait a little bit longer when you get to Rio You’ll stay in a flat there with Marcos and his family while you wait for a call to come try out you’ll see your football boots sitting in the corner … just waiting But looking at them reminds you of your boots back home The ones given to you by a grandfather of a teammate No more borrowing from someone else for a match Oversized and stuffed with newspaper at the toe to make them fit But you need to look the part of a professional Just a little bit of confidence and these new boots You’ll be wondering why you even came down here And you’ll grab your boots and head to the pitch you’ll see something you’ve never seen before Just out there … on the field … playing.It’ll be incredible The senior team is out there along with the U19 squad And even though you’re finally among other girls playing football from a poor town and with a northern accent too afraid they’ll make fun of how you talk your first touch will be a kick so hard that it knocks the goalkeeper on her back when she tries to stop it But the stares won’t be for the same reasons back at home the coordinator of the women’s senior side Part of this game.But this is just the beginning because you’re going to be part of something else You’re going to be part of changing the women’s game Of showing other girls who felt they didn’t belong that they do belong.That they belong The Brazilian Football Confederation is starting a national league for women you’ll win MVP of the Under-19 Championship Just a small monthly stipend that you’ll send home to Mãe You’ll stay with Marcos and his family again The president of the club is cutting the women’s team Play futsal — it’ll get you a small allowance for matches on weekends Because you’re going to get called up to the the national team get another club contract for a team in Belo Horizonte You’ll go to the 2002 FIFA U19 Women’s World Championship in Canada You’ll go to the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the United States Yiorgos Nissiotis/APAnd then something strange will happen A Swedish news station will be doing a feature on Robinho But they’ll also add a segment on the women’s game promising player for the women’s team named Marta Vieira da Silva….” You won’t think much of it — the program will air in Sweden And we’d like to sign you to play for us…” Because why would someone in Sweden be calling you You couldn’t even point to Sweden on a map Which you’ll find out when the same Swedish journalist who did the segment tells you … this guy is for real I know you’re not going to believe me when I tell you this It probably won’t feel that way when your plane lands and it’s so dark that you actually wonder if they can even play football here.You’ll think “What am I doing here?”What you’re doing is making one of the best decisions of your life You’re going to really become an athlete in Sweden you won’t become the player you do.And that’s where it gets fun Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty ImagesAnd that’s where it gets fun Remember how I said you’re going to be part of something it means bringing a little bit of your Brazilian style to the field It’s amazing how much the game has changed for women you’ll find it’s always going to be just a little bit harder for girls But one thing you’ll find — whether in Brazil being back in the United States with Orlando Pride — is that every woman shares something: A complicated story … and a love for football that keeps driving them Language will be a barrier with many of the teams that you’re on But playing alongside and against players like Mia Hamm It’s what comes after years of people telling you that you can’t do it to keep putting everything you have out there while constantly facing prejudice while constantly fighting for acceptance and respect So remember how alone you feel right now and listen when I tell you this: All over the world girls who get pulled from tournaments and called names And it won’t be long before you’re all playing together all you want to do is get away from Dois Riachos but one of the best moments of your career will happen there It’ll be 2006 and you’ll have just won FIFA World Player of the Year for the first time this is just your first.) There’ll be crowds of people welcoming you home Everyone wants to see the hometown hero who’s come back They’ll even drive you around in a fire truck that you couldn’t play — that you shouldn’t play — will be applauding as you go by And the first step is only 2,000 kilometers away And you’ll find out just why God has given you this talent “Spoelstra … He Deserve a Jersey for What He Gon’ Have to Do.”Channing Frye and Iman Shumpert are back to explain the stakes place bets and analyze the most valuable players in the NBA Finals Icon / VideoCreated with Sketch.The Fight UnseenJessica Mendoza's greatest pride is her background The Olympic Gold Medalist shines light on her Hispanic heritage fueling her career © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved playWhat legacy will Brazil's Marta leave on football (1:51)Alexis Nunes and Ali Krieger speak about the impact Marta has on football at both club and international level it looked like her career would end on a low as she was banned for the quarterfinals and semifinals she will get a chance to end with a gold medal as Brazil beat Spain in the semifinal ensuring she can play her final game against the USWNT on Saturday What legacy has she left on the women's game We spoke to those who know her best to tell the story of her incredible career Information from ESPN Brasil was used in this piece which was first published on July 24 and has been updated 1. Long before she became the best women's soccer player in the world, Marta was seven years old the only girl playing on a dirt field in Brazil the goals forged from three sticks to make both posts and a crossbar then later stuffing newspaper into the bottom of her used boots to make them fit Her single mother had worked long hours to provide for her and three siblings But she would dribble and weave with the ball like it was tied to her foot "She was born to play futebol," her childhood coach Some even asked her mother why she let her play none more so than during a children's tournament in the neighbouring town of Santana do Ipanema but the crux is this: Marta arrived at the competition she had played in before A coach from another team said his team wouldn't play against her, with the organiser eventually removing her from the tournament. (The organiser later told Brazilian media he only did so to protect her after another player had threatened to injure her when she had nutmegged him.) The following year Marta has achieved incredible things for Brazil but never won a World Cup. Alexander Hassenstein - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images2. As detailed in a Players' Tribune piece written to her 14-year-old self in 2017 one of the biggest decisions in Marta's life was whether to get on a bus It would pick her up near Dois Riachos in the West of the Brazilian state of Alagoas and take her to Rio de Janeiro At the other end was the chance of a trial at a professional club who were one of the best sides in Brazil at the time It was one of those crossroad moments in her life: Stay where you are the first thing to do was an interview with Vasco's women's football coordinator Helena Pacheco "I asked her if she had ever played football," Pacheco tells ESPN to which Marta said she had only played on small pitches Pacheco says that Marta's eyes remained fixated on the ball at a match going on nearby: "I turned to my assistant coach this girl looks like she's going to play ball really well.' He said: 'Oh aren't you?' Then I said: 'She didn't take her eyes off the ball.'" Marta looked unsure of what to do on the pitch She looked at how others were stretching and imitated them herself in a half-sure kind of way Marta began expressing herself in a way she hadn't done before Her first shot knocked the goalkeeper to the floor Her next few shots were similarly powerful "I smiled at Marcos and said: 'I think I'm right," she says Marta soon joined Vasco after the trial and moved into the club's youth accommodation under the stands of the stadium Marta was invited to join the Brazil national youth setup making her tournament debut at 16 years old at the Under-20 World Cup in Canada It was around that time when she first met Formiga who would go on to play 234 times for Brazil Formiga couldn't believe the energy she was bringing Marta arrived and instantly said: "Let's train "And off she went with her little neck poking out onto the pitch leaving only the goalkeeper to run through a few drills She often would stay with the goalkeepers after training to practice her shooting those extracurricular sessions sometimes took on a different vibe She would stay with the goalkeepers at the end [of training]," Formiga says Let's have a bet -- the winner gets coconut water.' And she stayed there with the goalkeepers "Then the goalkeepers would make fun of her," Formiga adds Marta's career at Vasco ended in 2002 when the club folded -- the first of many times she would endure the experience of being made redundant when the women's football structures around her crumbled Her performances soon garnered wide acclaim who had starred as a 17-year-old himself for the men's team at the 1958 World Cup before going on to become arguably the greatest player of all time A nickname was formed: "Pelé with a skirt." Pelé himself endorsed it loved Pelé but thought it was wrong to be compared to a male footballer "Nobody likes having a male nickname," Pacheco says "Although it was a positive thing because people didn't know how to say 'You're very good,' so they'd compare you to Pelé." Marta's actual nickname among the squad was "Zefa." It was because of her likeness to Brazilian marathon runner Maria Zeferina Baldaia Roland Arqvist was at the 2003 Women's World Cup to watch Sweden and scout for new players He was a sporting director at Umea -- a Premier Division (Damallsvenskan) club in a town of just over 100,000 people in northern Sweden -- and had been taken aback at Marta's play at the tournament speed and technique are something that I had never seen in a women's football player he told one of the coaches about the 17-year-old Brazilian and how he wanted for her to play for Umea next season They had just won their third straight league title and were the reigning European champions he fancied their chances at more silverware "I remember that he just laughed at me," Arqvist says "So many people told me that I was totally crazy How could I think that this could happen and work she was a very young player from Brazil and me taking her to a cold part of northern Sweden to play football So many people told me this is not going to work." Arqvist trusted what he saw at the World Cup and tried anyway The bigger issue was trying to contact Marta in the first place Arqvist says it took two months to get a phone number for a telephone kiosk They arranged a time for Marta to be at the other end of the line no Brazilian women's player had played outside of Brazil When Marta went to Pacheco with the news that a Swedish side wanted to sign her "At first I was very afraid because I thought it might be trafficking," Pacheco says and made some changes that included her having English lessons Then the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) reassured me that it was true the club there was a very reputable club and that there was no problem telling her never to let go of her passport despite its considerable differences to her homeland of Brazil. Bongarts/Getty Images5.2 If you wanted to know just how strange Marta found the new land she had just arrived in she landed in snow-covered Sweden wearing flip-flops the 17-year-old looked out the window and wondered if it was even possible to play football there The clock said it was the afternoon and the sun had already set It had been a particularly harsh winter that year and the snow was everywhere "What am I doing here?" she thought to herself Arqvist met her and a friend -- who had been signed by a different local club and would stay with her too -- for the first time at the flight gate the man whose family would host Marta during her first year and who spoke Portuguese her first news conference was scheduled to take place right at the airport Marta said that moving to Sweden was the best decision she could have made Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and others to bring you the latest highlights and debate the biggest storylines. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only). Marta's stay at the Barbosa house would support her during a spell in her life when she was far from home "They gave her lifts to and from training because my Mum and Dad lived about 20 minutes outside of Umea," Barbosa's daughter "So they were out all day just driving her back and forth and preparing food and washing her laundry Marta was quickly seen as part of the family "She became like their daughter," Josefin adds the Barbosa family would get together to play games; Marta joined in even if she was at a serious disadvantage One of the games was simple: Each person had to cross-country ski up to a certain place then delicately bring it back without letting it go out who grew up in a place where the weather almost never drops below 20 degrees Celsius (69 degrees Fahrenheit) "We went to do all this stuff and she always wanted to win," Josefin says Marta became an established global superstar after just one year in Sweden She scored a reported 22 goals in her first season -- joint-top scorer in the Swedish top-flight and helped the side to win the 2004 UEFA Women's Cup (the predecessor to the Women's Champions League) with three goals in the two-legged final win [8-0 on aggregate] against Frankfurt She maintained contact with Pacheco via email Marta was third that year behind Germany's Birgit Prinz and the USWNT's Mia Hamm But she won the award for the first time in 2006 before going on to win it five times in a row between 2006 and 2010 FIFA president Joseph Blatter and Mia Hamm pose during the FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich in 2004. FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images7.2 "It was quite luxurious," his daughter Josefin tells ESPN They flew First Class -- neither of them had done that before -- landing in Zurich, Switzerland for FIFA's awards gala Barbosa quickly realised he had never stayed in a hotel before "He didn't know how to turn on the lights because you have to put the card in the cardholder," Josefin says "People at the awards thought he was a Swedish referee." It was Marta's first time walking among the greats of the sport. Barcelona and Brazil legend Ronaldinho won the men's award that year Marta was overjoyed to be able to meet one of her idols Athens 2004 was Marta's first Olympics Games and alongside Cristiane and Formiga she helped Brazil reach the final The USWNT held out for a 2-1 victory in extra-time they're going to be the team that we need to watch," USWNT star Shannon Boxx tells ESPN team at that point had this ability to just keep pushing for 90 minutes where every other team kind of faltered at the 70th." she had seen women's football taken seriously with a proper league structure and sold-out stadiums when she played after winning the World Player of the Year award When she first returned to Dois Riachos after winning the award there were crowds there to welcome her home She was paraded around town on a fire truck Just five years after from being told she shouldn't play football because of her gender there is a sign that reads: "BEM VINDO A DOIS RIACHOS TERRA DA JOGADORA MARTA" If you took snapshots of the best moments from Marta's life and career then standing in the tunnel of the Maracanã stadium in Rio before Brazil's 2007 Pan Am Games final against the United States Women's National Team (USWNT) would certainly be one Brazil's men had crashed out in the group stage and that left the hopes of the football-mad nation on the shoulders of its women's side there were over 70,000 in the crowd waiting to watch them -- the biggest attendance the team had ever managed back home in Brazil "We only realised the magnitude of what was happening when we left the dressing room," Marta, whose star power had helped attract so many fans, later said Brazil overran the Americans in a convincing fashion Marta scored the opening two goals from the penalty spot in a 5-0 victory and ended the tournament with 12 goals from five games One fan held up a sign that read: "I never saw Pelé It cemented her place among Brazil's football legends she was invited to leave her footprints in cement at the Maracanã She was the youngest-ever player to receive the honour (men's star Kaká became the second-youngest to do so the following year aged 26.) "I have had many great moments, the silver medal at the Olympics the honour of best player but this was a very special day," Marta said at the ceremony "It shows to the country that women's football can and does have potential." 11.1 It's hard to overstate just how much of a shock the 2007 Women's World Cup semifinal was The USWNT were the reigning Olympic Champions and on a 51-game unbeaten run; yet "This one played out like a Stephen King novel for the U.S.," the ESPN announcer had said at half-time An early own goal had given Brazil the lead before Marta scored a superb solo effort to double their advantage; Boxx was sent off on the cusp of half-time then Cristiane added a third from a well-timed Marta assist USWNT head coach Greg Ryan brought on their fastest player "I think the defenders must be looking for her to this day," Formiga tells ESPN It was Brazil's fourth goal and secured them a place in the World Cup final for the first time It was also the worst World Cup defeat in USWNT history Marta celebrates her wondergoal against the USWNT in 2007. MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images11.2 12.1. The final took place three days later. At the hour mark, Brazil were 1-0 down against Germany but Cristiane won a penalty and Marta stepped up to take it then looked down at the ball and fired it into the bottom left-hand corner Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angerer had dived at an amazing speed to the same side to push the ball away Germany went on to score again and secured a 2-0 victory I felt it was meant to be," Germany coach Silvia Neid said afterwards We did a good job in pushing her to the sidelines." Marta had already lost an Olympic and Women's World Cup final 12.2. A year later, the USWNT and Brazil met again, this time in the 2008 Olympic final. It was another chance for Marta to finally claim some major silverware. Only, it didn't work out that way. The U.S., led by coach Pia Sundhage, were much more resolute and nullified Marta's threat before a belting strike from Carli Lloyd in extra time sealed them a gold medal Her lip was quivering when she spoke in a TV interview "I have no idea why we can't win a final," she said "It's something I'm gonna keep asking myself for a long time But sometimes I think about things that happened at the beginning Brazil's lack of investment from the CBF left a lasting effect on the team "We always said that if they got together as much as we did this would be an entirely different competition between the two of us," Boxx tells ESPN if they had gotten the backing that we had as a U.S this could have been a very dangerous team that won a lot of big events." there's something in the family,' she starts crying Marta became an icon for thousands of young players in Brazil, who looked up to her throughout her career. Stuart Franklin/FIFA via Getty Images13.1. In 2008, Marta was invited by the United Nations (UN) to play in a charity game in Fez, Morocco called the "Match Against Poverty" alongside other legends like Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazário she was the only female player ever to be invited as Marta became the first woman to play in a FIFA-sanctioned men's game She played again in 2014, this time against BSC Young Boys in Bern, Switzerland with proceeds going to typhoon victims in the Philippines she lined up alongside a host of the sport's legends: Zidane Just like her childhood on the dirt pitches of Dois Riachos remembers watching as Marta came off the bench and changed the game "Everybody said she was the best player that day," she tells ESPN Marta was in a meeting with members of the UN who were planning her next ambassadorial trip She turned to one official and said: "I want to go to the poorest country in the world." Marta decided they should put on a women's football match and that she would coach "Her message all the time was: 'Nothing's impossible if ever Poltier-Mutal meets someone from Sierra Leone she'll mention the trip she took with Marta She later learned there are framed pictures of Marta on the walls of bars across the country Marta had become something of a domestic footballing nomad She left Umea in 2008 when the club began to endure intense financial struggles LA Soul in the newly formed Women's Professional Soccer league (WPS) lasted just a year before financial difficulties cut her stay short there The same situation happened at FC Gold Pride (2010) and Western New York Flash (2011) By that time she was a five-time World Player of the Year though -- all the players on those teams faced that feeling of the ground moving beneath their feet who played for 10 different clubs herself in her career says after learning of Marta's club history "I was like: 'Am I the curse?' To hear that Marta also went through that same thing makes me feel like it wasn't just me." Marta joined the Orlando Pride in 2017. Jeremy Reper/Orlando Pride15 Brazil endured more heartbreak at the 2011 and 2015 Women's World Cups Marta was 29 years old and more of a veteran She would describe herself as still in great shape but more of a "different engine" than in her younger days this time in the semifinals up against Sundhage's Sweden The match ended in a 0-0 draw and went to penalties but the shootout ended with a Swedish victory When Brazil midfielder Andressa Alves missed the decisive penalty Marta stood for a second in shock and then slumped to the ground in tears Walking through the halls of the CBF in 2019 Sundhage (now Brazil women's manager) grew more annoyed with every step An on-site museum paid homage to the great men's teams of its past; it displayed their five World Cup trophies and nine Copa America titles; there were pictures of their great players: Neymar there was barely any mention of the Brazil women's side "It was a fight to take steps for the women's game in Brazil from my first day to my last day," she tells ESPN Sunhage helped create more representation at the museum she lobbied the federation to build her a wax statue and Sundhage was at the ceremony to mark its unveiling next to the one of Pelé "Marta was the best player in the world and today they treat her with respect and that is a unique situation," she says 17. Type in Marta's name on Google and within a click or two you'll find what is perhaps her most infamous moment on a football pitch. It didn't come when the ball was in play, or even during the game itself. It came afterwards, as she stood on the sideline following a round-of-16 exit to France at the 2019 Women's World Cup You likely already know the speech Marta had long ago graduated from shy teenager to one of football's greatest ambassadors She spoke of the need for the next generation of girls to play football "This is just an emotional moment," she said "I would like to be here smiling but here I am crying with joy That's the most important thing: cry in the beginning so you can smile at the end." she stared down the lens of the camera: "You won't have Formiga forever Women's football depends on you to survive so think about that." Marta never planned the speech with her raw emotions coming out just as her Women's World Cup campaign was over 18.1. Approaching the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand Marta knew it would be her sixth and final appearance at the tournament The larger question was how she would be used -- would she play a starting role She had sat down with Marta in her office at the Brazilian headquarters earlier that summer and the pair had chatted about the World Cup Sundhage told Marta how much she thought of her Sundhage mentioned the position she might want Marta to play -- likely as an attacker 18.2. The tournament itself didn't quite go to plan for Brazil. Marta was nursing a right knee injury and came off the bench in their opening two group games -- a cruising 4-0 win over Panama followed by a late 2-1 defeat to France In a must-win final group game against Jamaica, Marta started up front next to Debinha but was taken off on 81 minutes with the scoreline at 0-0 Brazil were eliminated and Marta's World Cup career was over "We had a meeting afterwards," Sundhage says She is of course supporting the national team supporting women's football and she was saying that 'yeah but this is just a beginning because I can see what's happening to the young players.'" Marta wants to end her international career on a high with an Olympic gold medal. Naomi Baker/FIFA/Getty Images19.1 Orlando Pride's media officer Jackie Maynard has been getting more and more interview requests for Marta They began to arrive after the 38-year-old announced she will retire from international football after the Olympics in Paris has had to reject many of the requests: Marta wouldn't do an interview about about the Olympics until she made the team 'I'm not on the team yet,'" Maynard tells ESPN On July 2, as if there was going to be any doubt, she was handed her place on the plane 19.2. Formiga won't be there. A Brazil legend in her own right, she played at a record seven Olympic Games before her international career came to an end in 2021, with her last match a 6-1 win over India at an international football event held in the Brazilian city of Manaus When Sundhage stepped out of the tunnel to coach the team she surveyed the stands and got the same feeling she had when she walked through the Brazilian football museum on her first day There were only a few thousand fans in the stands Sundhage cornered a Brazilian football official after the match: "I told him that the day Marta will play her last game make sure you arrange a big event because she deserves it." This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker GARRINCHA: Brazil has had its fair share of legends players so great a nickname in Portuguese is enough to identify them the world over But there’s another who sits as equal amongst these greats Marta – a Rainha – is the undisputed heir to Pelé’s throne Marta achieved an incredible and unprecedented feat She won five consecutive FIFA World Player of the Year awards For five years in a row she was the finest female footballer on the planet She has also finished as runner-up four times and twice come third making it 11 consecutive years in the top three to being recognised as one of the greatest ever to lace up a pair of chuteiras Marta Vieira da Silva Viega was born in 1986 in Dois Riachos which lies in Brazil’s poverty-stricken north-east Alagoas has the both the lowest Human Development Index and lowest literacy rate of any of Brazil’s 26 states Over 22 percent of people there cannot even write their own name It also has the second highest rate of child mortality and the second lowest income per capita in the country Even after the huge reductions in extreme poverty seen during the Lula government’s boom years the average person in Alagoas currently takes home just over 600 reais per month Marta was no different from your average Alagoana was a domestic employee and her father left the family when she was just a year old leaving Dona Tereza with Marta and three other children to take care of She was raised by her mother with the help of her eldest brother and it was he who would introduce her to the beautiful game Marta would take her first tentative steps along the path to greatness Marta.” This was her mother’s response when Marta asked her mother for one real to buy her own football By the age of seven she would go with her cousins and friends to the local football pitch and play for hours the only girl amongst a mass of young boys Football was not – and still isn’t – seen as an acceptable activity for females in Brazil it was illegal for women to play football in Brazil from 1941 until 1979 on the grounds that it is not compatible with their ‘feminine nature’ This ban continues to have repercussions today with female players facing huge challenges just to play the game they love Discrimination and pressure to stay off the pitch is ubiquitous When asked in an interview with Folha de São Paulo if she suffered from prejudice as a girl starting out in a ‘man’s game’ Marta responded: “Yes People at that time did not look kindly upon on a girl playing football with a load of boys It was at school that her talent was first noted After a game of handball in which she had played in goal the girls were allowed 10 minutes to show what they could do with the ball at their feet silky touch and the fierce left-footed shot for which she has become world-famous were immediately evident In 1999 she started playing in the youth system of Centro Sportivo Alagoas, the state’s biggest club. Incidentally, it is the club that produced Dida, the striker whose injury just before the start of the 1958 World Cup opened a place in Brazil’s starting line-up, allowing the 17-year-old Pelé to send shockwaves through the football world Marta embarked on the three-day bus journey across Brazil’s continental land-mass from Alagoas to Rio de Janeiro to join Vasco da Gama getting her first taste of the top-level of the Brazilian women’s game Europe’s first giant of women’s football Vasco ceased their female football operation and Marta was forced to move She found a new home at the amateur club Santa Cruz in Minas Gerais state It was at this time that she first made her mark on the international stage taking Brazil to fourth place in the under-19 World Cup in Canada where she finished with the award for the third best player was enough to convince the senior team to give her a first cap in 2002 and take her to the 2003 Pan-American Games Marta was the standout player as the Seleção reached the final scoring both of Brazil’s goals in a 2-1 semi-final win over arch-rivals Argentina they beat Canada 2-1 to take the gold medal back to Rio Marta would travel to the epicentre of women’s football Though she found the net three times in four games it was not enough for Brazil to avoid being eliminated at the quarter-final stage Marta’s increasing international profile and her performance against the Swedes at the World Cup earned her a move to the Scandinavian country home to one of Europe’s most established women’s leagues In doing so she became the first Brazilian woman to play professionally in Europe whose manager spent two months just trying to get in contact with her after the World Cup as she had no telephone in her house That year UIK also finished second in the league It was here that Marta would reach the peak of her footballing powers leading UIK to three consecutive league titles and picking up three of her five World Footballer of the Year titles as well At her blistering best Marta was a frightening prospect for opposition defenders Former Canadian international Marina Franko said: “I’ve never played anybody as fast as her I’ve never seen anyone who runs as fast as you During this time she would also experience her greatest moments in the famous yellow and green of the national team. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens scoring three times in six games as Brazil finished with a silver medal having also been beaten by them in the group stages Marta’s individual brilliance not enough to see them overcome the team who would become their greatest rivals Marta and the Seleção would repeat the feat they had managed four years previously Marta scoring a stunning 12 goals in six games This included five in a 7-0 thrashing of Canada and two – both penalties – in a sweet 5-0 final win over the USA in front of 68,000 in the Maracanã taking revenge for the loss in Greece three years before this was also a World Cup year – perhaps Brazil’s best chance to take their first women’s World Cup Cristiane and Formiga all in the form of their lives beating New Zealand 5-0 and the hosts China 4-0 In the quarter-finals the Seleção overcame Australia 3-2 to move into the semis where they would again face the might of the USA securing the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for best player in the process It was in this game that she scored what she believes to be her greatest ever goal; a sensational individual effort She picked up a bouncing ball on the touchline near the corner of the penalty area with her back to goal; flicking it up with her right foot she then back-heeled it with her left around one side of the defender before pirouetting around the other beat one more with a swivel of the hips and slotted the ball past the American goalkeeper with her weaker right foot But the collective glory she really desired wasn’t to be In the final Marta missed a penalty as Brazil succumbed 2-0 to Germany out-muscled by a defence that did not concede a single goal in the tournament Brazil also came frustratingly close at their next major tournament After beating the Germans 4-1 in the semis Marta has been quoted on several occasions as saying she believes she has the talent to make it in the men’s game despite the physical limitations that come with being five foot four inches and of slight build Not that she is scared of the physical side of the game; in the 2005 Swedish Cup final she was sent from the field for punching an opponent in the face and in 2008 saw red again for kicking someone in the stomach In 2009 she nearly got her chance to prove her doubters wrong when a film crew attempted to arrange for her to take part in a documentary to see how she would cope in the professional men’s game The wildly exotic surroundings of Oldham Athletic were to provide the backdrop for this particular adventure but Perhaps the Oldham players were scared of being shown up by a woman On the day that she received her fourth World Player of the Year award she was leaving Sweden in search of a new challenge joining the LA Sol in the newly formed Women’s Professional Soccer League She joined along with Umeå team-mate and close friend Johanna Frisk whose simultaneous transfer was reportedly one of Marta’s demands when signing Upon her arrival at the Home Depot Centre, a home which she would share with David Beckham of LA Galaxy she was presented with her shirt by LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant who told the gathered media that Marta was one of his favourite athletes and invited her to sit courtside at the next Lakers home game The Sol finished as runners-up and Marta as top-scorer in the league’s inaugural season. After the end of that season, she was loaned to Pelé’s old team Santos for three months to take part in their women’s Copa Libertadores and Copa do Brasil campaigns It was the first time she had returned to Brazilian club football since leaving for Sweden in 2004 with the world’s greatest ever player at their disposal beating Paraguayan side Universidad Autonoma 9-0 in the final of the Libertadores the second goal a beautiful free-kick from Marta In her brief spell back in Brazil she managed 28 goals in 15 games Despite picking up her fifth consecutive Player of the Year award in January 2010 Marta found herself in a frustratingly familiar position on her return to the US The LA Sol had folded and she was once again forced to travel in search of playing opportunities She moved to Santa Clara and FC Gold Pride for the 2010 season this time claiming the title after finishing as top-scorer once more At the end of the campaign she was loaned back to Santos for another three-month stint though this time success eluded the Peixão the financial ruin that has blighted Marta’s career once again befell her clubs FC Gold Pride crumbled and soon after she left Santos they too chose to close down their women’s footballing operation all in order to fund a contract for Neymar After signing the contract Neymar was asked if he felt responsible for putting an end the women’s team’s successful existence Before he could answer the club president intervened saying: “The goal of Santos is to have professional football that can last for hundreds of years Other side activities [like the women’s team] are possible when possible the players are more expensive and we have to readjust.” This is a clear example of the value placed on women’s football in Brazil and the difficulties female footballers face in forging a career in the game The financial devaluation of women’s football is something Marta has to deal with until today She currently earns about US$400,000 a year from her club but a pittance when compared with what a player like Neymar can command with Western New York Flash taking on the remainder of her contract the golden boot and was named MVP for the second successive year After the 2011 season it was not just her club that went bust but the entire league forcing her to abandon her American dream and return to Sweden with Tyresö FC Another of the beautiful game’s great four-year cycles had also passed with Brazil eliminated on penalties by the US after a 2-2 draw in which she scored both of her country’s goals Read  |  The game-changing story of Remarkables FC in South Africa She spent two years with Tyresö between 2012 and 2014 before they too went out of business That this could happen to the finest of all time is a perfect illustration of the precarious situation female professionals find themselves in After this latest episode of financial failure she made her way to FC Rosengård where she continues to ply her trade at amazingly – after such a diverse and nomadic career – still only 30-years-old In her two major international tournaments during this time London 2012 and the 2015 World Cup in Canada an ageing Brazil team seriously disappointed They went out to Japan in the quarters in London and didn’t even make it past the round-of-16 in the 2015 World Cup there was more individual success for Marta she scored her only goal of the tournament to take her onto 15 in World Cup finals and only one behind Miroslav Klose’s overall record of 16 Marta scored five in an 11-0 thrashing of Trinidad and Tobago This took her onto 98 international goals and made her Brazil’s most prolific player She has since moved past the 100-goal mark a truly stunning number and a tribute to both her brilliance and her longevity in a game where many stars burn extremely quickly Owing to her propensity for breaking records Marta is often compared to Pelé; the queen to Pelé’s king O Rei himself even referred to her as “Pelé with skirts” He followed this poorly worded compliment with some unmistakable misogyny With the tact and delicacy of a drunk Dave Whelan he added: “She has one advantage; her legs are much sexier than mine.” This sort of attitude to women’s football is common in Brazil the head of Brazilian women’s football Marco Cunha said that the increasing popularity of the women’s game in the country is down to the players now wearing make-up doing their hair and wearing shorter shorts Though obviously flattered by being likened to Pelé, Marta prefers to see herself as her own player, taking parts from the games of a variety of Brazil’s many greats. When pushed to make a comparison she chooses Ronaldinho Her beautiful playing is technique is reminiscent of the golden era of Brazilan football-art. The way she drops her shoulder, swivels her hips and accelerates away from opponents can’t help but remind one of the style in which Garrincha led Brazil to the 1962 World Cup She is one of a dying breed – a jinking samba dancer in a game that increasingly resembles a contest of gladiatorial power and stamina Marta will have the opportunity to make amends for her missed opportunities at previous Olympics and World Cups A first Olympic football gold medal for the futebol nation in front of 75,000 home fans in the Maracanã would be the sweetest icing on the most extravagant of cakes and a fitting final chapter in her storied career Marta herself is not too worried about the effect of the Olympics on her personal legacy She would much prefer to see it used as a springboard for the acceptance of the women’s game in Brazil the creation of a strong domestic professional league and the establishment of a stable youth system for Brazilian girls As for what she will do after she finally hangs up those chuteiras Marta says that she will work in any way she can to help the women’s game reach its huge potential; whether that be as an international FIFA ambassador or as a coach teaching young girls on that dirt pitch in Dois Riachos where her adventure began Marta has done an incredible amount to advance the women’s game in Brazil and around the world but there is still a mighty long way to go with the drive and determination that took her from the Alagoas interior to world superstardom surely Marta is the right person to make it happen At the Pan-American Games in Rio in 2007 one Brazil supporter held up a placard that read: “I never saw Pelé but I have seen Marta.” We can all count ourselves fortunate to be able to say the same By Joshua Law. Follow @JoshuaMLaw a discussion took place to elect the best football player in the country after Pele Zico and even Neymar were among the names discussed a six-time World Player of the Year recipient and the country’s all-time top goalscorer among both women and men one of Brazil’s most deprived states has had to overcome much more than just being occasionally overlooked by a few casual onlookers Marta Vieira da Silva was forced to dribble past adversities right from her beginnings who left the family when she was only one year old the future queen of Brazilian football also had to endure poverty hunger and even prejudice from her own brothers who disapproved of their little sister playing with a ball rather than dolls my mother raised all her children by herself and couldn’t afford football boots for me,” Marta told Goal “But I’ve never lost the drive to win Marta’s mother and grandmother made sure she refused to give up Marta left behind the dirt pitches of Alagoas for bright lights of Rio de Janeiro taking with her little more than a dream: To one day be able to make a living doing the thing she loved most “It’s like a movie in my head I remember my early career back in Dois Riachos and how hard it was when I started in football hopping on a bus to Rio in the hope of playing for Vasco.” an epic beginning to the most epic of Brazilian fairy-tales No sooner had Marta arrived did she find herself adrift on Ilha do Governador participating in a trial for Vasco under the watchful eyes of Helena - then Vasco coach - and Meg a former Brazil international goalkeeper who played at the 1996 Olympics She dribbled past every opponent on the pitch and hit goal after goal leaving all those in attendance with the impression that they had just seen something very but her legend was born one sunny Tuesday morning on the Guanabara Bay “Everything in my career happened very fast I joined the Selecao at an early age and then I went to play in Sweden.” Indeed the future Queen of Football saw her life change drastically following that initial trial Marta was leading Brazil in her first World Cup Her performances would drive the Canarinho to third place in USA 2003 she claimed the first of six FIFA Player of the Year awards but also played a major role in changing the perception of women’s football in the sport's most successful country Some couldn’t believe that a woman was able to do what Marta did; others just sat back enjoyed one mesmerising performance after another in Marta the next generation had a role model could one day come true in a sport no longer reserved solely for men “Marta is the biggest name in women’s football she won so we could get to the level we are today” an attacking midfielder for Grota de Niteroi “Everything we have achieved in the game came through her even if women’s football existed before having overcome each and every obstacle as she did.” Marta’s personal achievements in the game remain unparalleled with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi unable to match her six crowns while even Pele cannot claim to have scored more goals for Brazil 15 of those goals arrived over four World Cup tournaments surpassing a record that once belonged to former strikers Birgit Prinz and Abby Wambach Marta heads to the World Cup in France with her eyes set firmly on Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 goals on the biggest stage of them all But Marta’s achievements are not restricted to only her on-field heroics and recently became the first woman to have her feet eternalised at the Maracana’s Walk of Fame “I believe I have a very important mission which is to represent women’s football” “We’ve been working for that though that’s not just because of me but every teammate I’ve had for the Selecao and at club level and all the people who have left a mark on my career committed to showing the younger players just how important it is to represent Brazil I always strive to maintain that drive to win - that’s something no athlete can do without - and also to represent all women with my role as UN Ambassador for Women For all her records and on- and off-field achievements it is worth noting that even the Queen of the women’s game is yet to receive anything like the financial recognition of her male counterparts Marta’s basic annual salary is less than Lionel Messi makes in a week But women’s football is moving forward in that regard and there have been few greater pioneers for the sport than Marta whose only concern is to keep fighting for a better future for all the girls who want to follow in her footsteps “Never give up on your dreams,” she says “The road may be a little difficult but never give up.” Marta never did – and she became the best that ever did it regardless of whether a few pundits remember to mention her name alongside that of Pele.