Marta Profile
Height: 162 cm
Shirt number: 10
Position: Forward
Current club: Western N
Biography:
Marta Vieira da Silva, a Brazilian football striker and one of the best soccer players in the world, was born on February 19, 1986 in Dois Riachos, Alagoas. She grew up in poverty as her father, Aldário da Silva who was a barber, left the family when she was only a baby. Tereza da Silva, her mother, worked hard to support her four children. Marta Vieira da Silva has two elder brothers, José and Valdir, and a sister, Angela. Her brilliant football techniques are compared to that of Pele, world renowned football player, which has earned her the nickname “Pele with skirts”. Marta Vieira da Silva plays in the midfielder position for Umeå Idrottsklubb (Umeå IK), a famous women’s association football club. She currently resides in Umeå, one of Sweden’s fastest growing cities.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Brazil won the silver medal with Marta Vieira da Silva in their squad. In the FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship 2004, Brazil finished fourth but Marta Vieira da Silva became a star player with her six goals in the tournament and was named the Golden Ball (Most Valuable Player (MVP)). She won the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year consecutively in 2006 and 2007.
Playing for Brazil in the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Marta Vieira da Silva scored a brace in the first two matches and Brazil went on to win all three games in their group. From the penalty spot, she scored 2-0 and equaled Ragnhild Guldbrandsen of Norway in the World Cup top scorer award with 5 goals. Brazil won the semi final of the World Cup against the United States with a clear 4-0 lead. Of the four goals that were scored, two were contributed by Marta Vieira da Silva. Brazil lost to Germany in the final match but Marta Vieira da Silva was named best player of the tournament and was also the top scorer.
Marta Vieira da Silva scored two brilliant goals for Brazil to win (4-0) against China at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She scored the first goal in the 42nd minute and the second one which was the fourth goal for Brazil in the 70th minute of the game. For her outstanding performance she won the “Player of the Match”. Despite her impressive performance at the final match against the United States, Brazil lost when their opponents scored an extra-time goal. There was a sense of déjà vu as this defeat was similar to their loss at Athens in 2004 Olympics.
At the 2007 season, Marta Vieira da Silva representing Umeå IK, scored 20 goals in 18 league matches and four rounds before the end. Marta has also won a Swedish national cup trophy after beating AIK 4-3 in a match where she scored a hat-trick including the winning goal three minutes from time.
By winning the Golden Ball award as the best player and the Golden Boot award as the top scorer, Marta Vieira da Silva has secured a place for herself in the history of women’s football. When the Brazilian team defeated the US Under-20 National Team in the Pan American Games, Marta Vieira da Silva was lauded by all for her performance. The imprint of her boots was recorded in cement at the Estadio do Maracana stadium, and she is the first woman to be honored so, alongside Brazilian male stars. She was Damallsvenskan Best Forward of the Year 2007 and Damallsvenskan Top Scorer of 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Ronaldinho and Rivaldo are her favorite football players and Vasco da Gama is her second favorite club, the first one being Umeå IK.
Other than football, Marta Vieira da Silva loves tennis and also plays guitar in her spare time.
In 2005, Swedish Television, made a documentary titled, Marta - Pelés kusin (Marta, cousin of Pelé) on her, which captured some of her best moments in football and her life.
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