By: Elliott Chu

Marta Vieria da Silva’s reign on soccer’s biggest stage has come to an end. One of the most notable names in women’s soccer, Marta played her first world cup at age 17; now, at 37, the Brazilian superstar has played in her sixth and last. With a 0-0 draw against Jamaica, Brazil crashed out of the group stage at the Women’s World Cup on August 2, its earliest elimination since 1995.

It was a team effort to try to get Marta a World Cup title before she retired, but they faced a solid Jamaica team that’s now headed toward its first Round of 16.

Marta holds the all-time scoring record for World Cup goals – 17. She scored in each of her World Cup tournaments except this one. After the loss against Jamaica, she said, “I want people in Brazil to continue to have the same enthusiasm they had when the World Cup started. To continue to support. Because things don’t happen overnight.”

Even though Marta is retiring from the World Cup, she hasn’t retired from club soccer, and she still plays for the Orlando Pride. “When I started playing soccer, there was no idol for me to follow, I just had to play by myself,” she says.

20 years ago, no one knew her; now 20 years later, everybody knows her.