Bahia native Rafaelle has a long history wearing the Brazil jersey. She started at 16 in the U-17 national team and hasn’t stopped since. Born in Cipó, the player is a true title collector. This Saturday (10), the defender won the silver medal in Paris. It was the first medal for the women’s national team since Beijing 2008.
“We gave our all, we did everything to achieve this medal, and we are very proud of it,” said the defender, who also commented on the importance of the great campaign at the Olympics in France for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Brazil.
“To get Brazilian fans to love the national team again, to enjoy Brazilian soccer again, (the silver) will only help that grow from now on, to elevate the World Cup in Brazil,” she added.
The 33-year-old defender is one of the most experienced players available to coach Arthur Elias in France. She is competing in her third Olympics. Rafaelle was first called up to the senior national team in 2011. With the team, she has important titles, such as gold at the 2015 Pan American Games in Canada and the Copa América in 2018 and 2022.
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Rafaelle is one of the leaders of the group. In the victory against the French team last Saturday (3), she won almost all her duels but suffered a thigh injury in the final minutes, which took her out of the competition. This Saturday, she came on at the end of the final. In the Paris Games, the defender reached the impressive milestone of 100 matches for the Brazilian national team.
A standout for Orlando Pride in the United States, she has a solid career abroad. Rafaelle played for Changchun Zhuoyue in China, where she spent five seasons. She returned to Brazil for a brief stint with Palmeiras before signing with Arsenal in 2022.
In her only season with the English team, she was one of the standout players, forming a solid defensive partnership with Leah Williamson. At Arsenal, she won the English League Cup 2022/23 and helped the team reach the semifinals of the Champions League.
In 2022, the “sheriff” was named captain of the Brazilian national team that won the Copa América. That year, she was listed among the 100 best players in the world by the English newspaper The Guardian.
Rafaelle is also an engineer
For over a decade, the player left São Francisco do Conde in Bahia to study engineering at the University of Mississippi. Prior to that, she studied Civil Engineering for two years at the State University of Bahia. Back in the United States, the defender plans to pursue a postgraduate degree in the country.
