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Football isn't just a sport we love, nor merely a form of entertainment - it's also a source of hope, capable of making the impossible happen. From its inception, it has offered countless talented and hardworking people, both in Brazil and worldwide, the chance to forge incredible careers doing what they love, and to lift their families out of hardship. Among many stories of success and glory, few are as compelling as that of Marta, the greatest female footballer of all time. Her journey is one of passion, courage, strength, and resilience. Today, we look back and celebrate her extraordinary trajectory.
Challenges and Dreams: Marta's Early Career
Marta Vieira da Silva was born on the 19th of February 1986 in Dois Riachos, a municipality located deep within rural Alagoas, one of Brazil’s most historically deprived and economically challenged states. She was raised by her mother alongside her three siblings, with her father having left the family when Marta was still a baby. Facing hunger and poverty, she worked several jobs tirelessly to help support the family, from selling clothes to washing dishes.
But whenever she could find time, when the struggles and pressures of life temporarily subsided, Marta did what she loved most in the world - play football. With the ball at her feet, it seemed all the world’s problems slowly disappeared. For that brief moment, all that mattered was the game. And it seemed nobody understood the game quite like Marta.
"A coach from another team came up and said: 'If you let the girl play, I'm taking my team out.' That hurt me so much." - Marta
The girl had a gift, and was outplaying several boys each time she joined in, even while barefoot. Many of these boys began shunning Marta from participating, claiming that women had no place in the game. They were no doubt secretly scared of playing against Marta and inevitably losing, of being embarrassed by a girl in a world which frequently tells us that boys and men are superior. Even Marta’s own brothers disapproved of her love of football, believing it to be unnatural.
But Marta ignored the questioning eyes, the mean comments, the rejections. She continued to play, day in, day out. It was around this time that a Children’s Futsal Cup was being held at an AABB centre in the municipality of Santana do Ipanema. The local coach, Luiz Euclides, affectionately nicknamed "Tota," allowed young Marta to participate. Once again outperforming many of the boys, Marta became the target of threats, with some saying they would hurt her. Her presence made many others uncomfortable, resentful. Emotional, the star recalls: "A coach from another team came up and said: 'If you let the girl play, I'm taking my team out.' That hurt me so much. I thought: 'Wow. Am I doing something wrong? Then why did God give me this talent?'" (Casão FC)
Alarmed by the threats from some of the other boys, Tota decided to remove Marta from the competition. Like so many other talented and ambitious young women, Marta learned early on how doors can suddenly and unfairly close.
But the coach believed in her, and managed to arrange for her to have trials for Vasco da Gama’s women’s team in Rio de Janeiro.
Three Days on the Road, an Eternity of Glory
14-year-old Marta had never left Alagoas, had never been separated from her mother and siblings. But what Tota saw in her was what many at the time knew but preferred to ignore - she had a gift. What Marta had was a special talent, one which many believed to be incongruous with her gender. She was at a crossroads. Either accept her circumstances or take the risk, embracing the uncertainties which it brought with it, and do everything in her power to reach her dreams. For those who knew Marta, it was obvious that there was only ever one path she was going to choose.
After working hard to save up money, she got on the bus and left home. The journey from Dois Riachos to Rio took 3 days.
And was the risk worth it? Well, in her own words: "I would do it all again. Take the bus. Three days. Even a week if I had to." (Esporte Espetacular)
Marta was approved after her very first trial session at Vasco, impressing with her silky smooth skills on the ball and incomparable grit. Within a few years, she was headed for the European leagues.
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The Queen of Records (Surpassing Kings)
In a career that has spanned over two decades in Europe, Martas has conquered unimaginable feats for both club and country. She is the winner of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the Swedish Damallsvenskan (multiple times), the NWSL Championship, the Copa América Femenina, the Pan American Games. She has won the title of FIFA World Player of the Year a record 6 times. She is the all-time leading scorer in FIFA World Cup tournament history, regardless of gender. The same is true when it comes to her record for Brazil - she is the national team’s all-time leading scorer, with 122 goals. The all-time leading scorer for the men’s national team, Neymar, has 79 goals to his name currently. She is the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, among both men and women. When Marta broke this record, Ronaldo Fenômeno, a two-time Ballon d'Or winner, celebrated: 'Thank you for all your fight and determination. You deserve it, Queen!' (Instagram)
Pelé, the greatest Brazilian footballer of all time, frequently heaped praise on Marta before his death, famously nicknaming her “Pelé in a skirt”. There had long been an undisputed king of Brazilian football, and now there was also an undisputed queen.
To understand the full extent of why Marta’s story is so remarkable it is important not only to understand her own story, but also the context of women’s football as a whole. In the same way many players have faced adversity over their lives, so has the sport itself.
Women’s football was banned for 40 years in Brazil, believed to be incompatible with the nature of women. The game was only regulated and recognized in 1983, with the Brazilian women’s national team finally launched in 1986, the same year in which Marta was born. At the first FIFA women’s world football championship in 1988, there was no gender-specific uniform for Brazilian players to wear, so they had to rely on leftover clothing from the men’s team. The first Women’s World Cup was held in 1991, a full 6 decades after the first edition of the men’s tournament. Until just over a decade ago, there were no organised national women’s football competitions in Brazil.
So, Marta was not only taking a risk when she left for Rio because there was no guarantee that she would make it, but also because the sport itself had not yet been fully accepted or embraced within Brazil (or the rest of the world).
Marta for the Brazilian national team
How Marta Broke Down Sexism's Barriers
In many cases, the lack of attention and recognition which the sport received led to mismanagement. Over her career, despite being an incomparable talent, Marta had to deal with disappointments beyond her control. Vasco’s women’s team was disbanded in 2002 due to financial issues. Los Angeles Sol, the club which she had guided to a league title in the USA’s WPS league, was disbanded after a period of internal financial struggles. All active players were put up on a dispersal draft. The entire league itself folded in 2012, largely due to a lack of investment. Similar disbandments occurred with Gold Pride and Western New York Flash, other American teams which Marta had brought glory to. Sweden’s Tyresö FK, which Marta represented in the early 2010s, went bankrupt in 2014.
But Marta kept going, moving from club to club and bringing enormous glory to each. Against all odds, she succeeded, carving out an illustrious path of hope and glory. And as she conquered great things, so did women’s football, which has notably seen more engagement, interest and investment in recent years. The CBF’s creation of the Brasileirão Feminino was an important and necessary step in 2013, and one which was expanded to include a second division in 2016. From 2019, FIFA and CONMEBOL also decreed that any club that did not have a women’s team would not be able to compete in continental competitions.
"May we have complete freedom to choose what we want to do. Whether in sports, or any other activity." – Marta
It is undeniable that Marta’s otherworldly skills and record-breaking successes have been essential to the development of women’s football, providing the sport with greater attention and visibility. Nowhere can this be more blatantly seen than in FIFA’s creation of the Marta Award in 2024, given to the women’s player deemed to have scored the most aesthetically beautiful goal of the year.
A Champion On and Off the Field
Marta’s lasting influence on the pitch can only be matched by her incredible legacy off of it. In 2018, she was named a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Latin America, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment within the beautiful game. In 2023, she launched a sportswear brand named Go Equal, with all the royalties from product sales donated to football-related organisations promoting female leadership in the sport. Her mission has always remained the same: "May we have complete freedom to choose what we want to do. Whether in sports, or any other activity." (Prêmio ESPN Bola de Prata Sportingbet 2018)
These days, if you walk along the fabled sidewalk of fame by the iconic Maracana stadium, you will see tributes to some of Brazil’s greatest-ever players. Among them lies the imprint of Marta Vieira da Silva’s feet - the first woman to receive the honour. A woman who knew what her dream was but also knew how difficult it would be to reach it. Hurdle after hurdle, Marta has proved restless in her search for an eternal legacy. Escaping poverty in the rural shrublands of Alagoas, travelling alone at such a young age to try to prove herself, conquering numerous titles in Brazil and around the world, fighting against the stereotypes and neglect which affects so many women in the sport, inspiring the next generation of girls to never give up on their ambitions. It’s this never-say-never attitude that has brought her to where she is today, and which pushes her to bring as many others along as possible. In her own words: “Never give up on your dreams. The road may be a little difficult, but never give up.” (GOAL)
