![]() She impressed in one trial and signed for the Vasco da Gama youth team. Marta met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of the Women's World Cup in Australia and New ZealandĪged 14, Marta had never left her home state. She played in school leagues until the day when one coach refused to let his team compete unless she withdrew.Īt that stage, a local scout brought her to Rio de Janeiro for trials with nascent women's clubs. ![]() The family had no money for school supplies, so Marta only started education aged nine. Home life was difficult - her parents split up before she was a year old, and her mother was left to fend for herself and four children. Marta Vieira Da Silva has been chasing her dreams all her life, starting off by trying to keep up with her brothers as they played. Marta might not have won three World Cups like Pele but she is one of the most decorated players in history and has been named FIFA world player of the year six times.īut her biggest achievement was to escape the misery of a difficult childhood in Dois Riachos, Alagoas state, in Brazil's arid northeast.Ī UN ambassador for gender equality, she is an inspiration for many Brazilian women who love to play football but are often stigmatized in a country where machismo looms large. I suffered a lot," she said after making her comeback. "It's the first time I've gone that long without playing. ![]() She returned only in February, for Brazil's 1-0 win over Japan in the SheBelieves Cup. The three-time Copa America winner (2003, 20) missed that competition last year, when Brazil successfully defended their title. Marta herself spent nearly a year away from the pitch with a serious knee injury. Marta will be without two of her veteran companions.įellow legend Formiga retired from the national team in 2021 after seven World Cups, while forward Cristiane, 38, was not selected. ![]() She will now get a chance to extend that record. She is the all-time leading goal scorer in World Cups - men's or women's - with 17 in five editions, one better than Germany's Miroslav Klose. Marta has however spent a lifetime overcoming obstacles, from a childhood of poverty to sexism and, more recently, the worst injury of her career.Īrguably the best female player of all time, she has come agonisingly close to international glory with the "Selecao", making it to the World Cup final in 2007 and picking up silver medals in the 20 Olympics. "It is to be expected that I am not the Marta of 20 years ago but physically I feel good and mentally I am even better," she insisted. Yet Brazil's chances of sending her off with a first world crown look slim, with Marta battling injury in the twilight of her career and the team at a generational crossroads. ![]()
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