Marta Vieira da Silva was born in the town of Alagoas, Dois Riachos, on February 19, 1980. In love with soccer from an early age, Marta broke the conservative gender stereotypes of the time and made her professional debut in 2002. hand of Vasco da Gama.
That same year she would begin her adventure with the Seleção and more than 20 years later, the undisputed queen of soccer is getting closer and closer to a painful farewell that will undoubtedly mark a before and after in the growing women’s soccer.
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++ Marta announces retirement from Brazilian national team
++ International Women’s Day: Why is Marta considered the best soccer player in history?
Club career
Marta trained at CSA (Centro Sportivo Alagoano) and made her debut at Vasco da Gama in the early 2000s. After a short career at international level, Marta signed for Umea IK of Sweden, a club for which she played 104 times, scored 111 goals and won important titles, including a UEFA Women’s Champions League (2003/04).
🇧🇷🪄 This Marta brace is next level 🤯#UWCLfinal || #OTD pic.twitter.com/gcKHx5yKR5
— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) May 22, 2024
After this stage, Marta arrived in the United States, a country where she played for Los Angeles Sol, FC Gold Pride and New York Flash. In 2012 she returned to Sweden to play for Tyresö FF and FC Rosengård before, in 2017, signing for her current club, Orlando Pride. Between 2010 and 2011, she had two brief spells at Santos, a club to which she joined on loan.
Marta’s career
- Vasco da Gama (2000-2002)
- Santa Cruz-MG (2002-2004)
- Umeå IK (2004-2009)
- Los Angeles Sun (2009-2010)
- Saints (2009-2010)
- FC Gold Pride (2010)
- Saints (2011)
- New York Flash (2011)
- Tyresö FF (2012-2014)
- FC Rosengård (2014-2017)
- Orlando Pride (2017-Present)
International career
Marta debuted with the Brazilian National Team in 2002, more than 20 years ago, and her legacy with the national team will lay the foundations for the next generations of young people who dream of achieving her enviable record of achievements and goals record.
She is the second footballer with the most matches in the history of the national team, only behind Formiga (234 matches) and also the top scorer of the Brazilian team, this including both the men’s and women’s categories, as she surpasses Pelé’s figures ( 77) and Neymar (79).
Her notable achievements include two Olympic Silver Medals, a runner-up finish at the 2007 Women’s World Cup, three Copa América and two Pan American Games Gold Medals.
🇧🇷 H I S T O R Y 🇧🇷
GOAL 1⃣7⃣ FOR MARTA! #ITABRA | #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/j2VhgVGZZW
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) June 18, 2019
As if that were not enough, with 17 goals, Marta is the player with the most goals in the history of the FIFA World Cup, surpassing the 16 goals of the German Miroslav Klose.
Marta with the Seleção*
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- Matches: 186
- Goals: 116
*Data consulted in May 2024
Palmares
This is the enviable track record of Marta, the Brazilian legend.
- 1x UEFA Women’s Champions League – Umeå IK (2003/04).
- 1x CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina – Santos (2009).
- 5x Swedish Super Cup – Umeå IK (2003/04), Tyresö FF (2012), FC Rosengård (2014, 2015 and 2016).
- 7x Swedish Leagues – Umeå IK (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008), Tyresö FF (2012) and Rosengård (2014, 2015).
- 2x Swedish Cup – Umeå IK (2007) and FC Rosengård (2016).
- 1x Brazil Cup – Santos (2009)
- 2x United States Leagues – Gold Pride (2010) and New York Flash (2011).
- 2x Gold Medal (Pan American Games) – Brazil (2003 and 2007).
- 2x Silver Medal (Olympic Games) – Brazil (2004 and 2008).
- 3x Copa América Femenina – Brazil (2003, 2010, 2018)
¡Una inspiración para millones de mujeres del mundo! 🇧🇷🫶
Hoy Marta jugó su último partido en una Copa del Mundo con la @SelecaoFeminina y recordamos su primer y último gol en los #JuegosOlímpicos. 🔙
¡Gracias, leyenda! ⚽️ @CBF_Futebol pic.twitter.com/DFIKZHLPoL
— Los Juegos Olímpicos (@juegosolimpicos) August 2, 2023
Individual achievements and records
These are all the individual trophies, recognitions and records that Marta has achieved during the two successful decades of career that she has built since her debut in 2002.
- 5x Best FIFA World Player – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2018
- 1x FIFA Ballon d’Or – 2010
- 1x Best Player of the World Cup – 2007
- 1x World Cup Golden Boot – 2007
- Included in the best women’s team of the decade 2011-2020 by the IFFHS
- Included in the best CONMEBOL women’s team of the 2011-2020 decade by the IFFHS
- 1x Best Player in the World of the Decade 2011-2020 by the IFFHS
- 1x Best CONMEBOL Player of the Decade 2011-2020 by the IFFHS
- 4x Presences at the FIFPRO World XI – 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021
- Top scorer in the history of the Brazilian national team
- Second player with the most matches in the history of the Brazilian national team
- Top scorer in the history of the FIFA World Cups
- Second all-time top scorer for Brazil in the Olympics
- Only player in history to score in five different World Cups
Marta é a primeira jogadora imortalizada em cerimônia do FIFA The Best!
A primeira entre homens e mulheres a receber a homenagem ainda em atividade. Além disso, o troféu para o gol mais bonito do ano no futebol feminino terá o nome da nossa craque! Parabéns, Rainha! 👑🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/kBUFPc3SEY
— Seleção Feminina de Futebol (@SelecaoFeminina) January 15, 2024
Marta, the undisputed queen of women’s soccer
Marta is synonymous with women’s football. Although the growing women’s soccer continues to gain popularity year after year, until a couple of decades ago, this category of soccer was ignored, missed and ignored, but Marta was always in charge of raising the name of soccer starring women, whether on the courts or off them.
Her countless goals have made her a reference for future generations and with her imminent retirement from the Brazilian National Team, Marta feels ready to hand the torch to the young soccer players who will fight for the World Cup dream.
Her activism led her to be named UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2018 and her eternal fight against discrimination against women has turned her into an icon, a reference and a true legend that the world of football will never forget. .
For this and much more, Marta is considered the undisputed queen of soccer and her legacy will lay the foundations for women’s soccer that little by little is gaining more and more ground.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the full series, available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel.
