The Legacy of Marta: An Extraordinary Career and Sixth World Cup
There are some good players and some fantastic players, and then there are players who are legends. One player that deserves to be called a legend is none other than Marta. Brazil’s forward had changed the game since the moment she started her career.
The Legacy of Marta
As the World Cup nears, teams are getting ready to do their best to win, including, of course, Brazil. Of course, Brazil’s coach, Pia Sundhage, will depend on Marta whether she plays or not. The Brazilian player brings to the table a lot of experience that Brazil could use; this is in hopes of avoiding another defeat after falling to France in the round of 16 in 2019.
Marta’s journey with Brazil has been jaw-dropping with her unquestionable performance. Her legacy began when 17-year-old Marta was chosen to play in the 2003 Women’s World Cup. Not only did she join the national team at such a young age, but she also scored three goals.
Then came the next tournament, and Marta shined again, proving herself to be a legend in the making. She scored seven goals back then, which says a lot about her performance! It landed her the Adidas Golden Boot and Adidas Golden Ball as well. Now we are in 2023, and it has been 20 years since Marta’s first World Cup. In those 20 years, Marta has done almost everything in the game.
Breaking Records
There are a lot of things that make us love Marta. One of them is the fact that she never stops breaking records and winning awards. For example, the 37-year-old player has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award six times.
When we say Marta is a legend, we don’t mean that she is a legend in women’s soccer only; she broke many records, whether in men’s or women’s soccer. Marta holds the record for the most goals in women’s World Cup tournaments. She reached that record after scoring 17 goals which isn’t easy to do. And this makes her the first footballer, man or woman, to score in five World Cups. Christine Sinclair and Cristiano Ronaldo later matched this.
Her success isn’t limited to Brazil since she also found it while playing with several clubs. When Marta was playing for Swedish team Umea IK, she won the UEFA Women’s Cup. Since she spent some time in the Swedish League, she won seven championships with different teams in the league.
The records and achievements keep on coming! We can’t forget that Marta also won two silver medals at the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. Another record that Marta broke was at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She managed to score in five straight Olympic Games.
One Last Dance
With all the numbers we mentioned, we, and many others, are delighted to know that Marta will play her sixth World Cup in the upcoming tournament. It’s very emotional that this will be the last for the 37-year-old player.
Many hope that Brazil will win their first World Cup, at least for Marta. They see this as the perfect end. However, whether or not Brazil wins, Marta will always be one of the best in the game. In coach Pia Sundhage’s words: “Marta is the queen, she is an icon.”
Despite such words, Marta is not guaranteed to play that much. This is somewhat understandable since she is returning from an injury that prevented her from playing for almost a year. According to Reuters, Sundhage said, “If she will be in the starting lineup, I don’t know, not yet. She will play the role I will give her and I am sure she will do well.”
We can’t wait to see Marta playing, even if it is for a few minutes. A player with her legacy deserves to be included in games since her experience will benefit the team as a whole. Marta has changed the game as we know it. One thing for sure is that she isn’t the female Messi or the female Ronaldo. She is Marta, and she is an icon.
Featured image via Getty Images
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