By: Sammy Wang
Marta Vieira da Silva, a well-known soccer player in the Women’s World Cup, has decided to step down from the stage after declaring that 2023 would be her final World Cup.
On Wednesday, August 2, at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Australia, Marta’s team, Brazil, played against Jamaica, ending with a 0 – 0 draw. Brazil hoped to win the World Cup for Marta, but the team was eliminated. This moved Jamaica to their first Round of 16.
After the game, Marta gave a speech to inspire other young girls to follow their dreams just like she did.
“But it’s just the beginning, I’m done here, but they’re still here,” Marta 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.”
Women’s soccer has been growing and gaining more fans as time passes, and Marta was there to witness it.
“I’m very happy with all that has been happening in women’s football in Brazil and in the world. Keep supporting,” she adds on, tears glazing her eyes. “Because for them, it’s just the beginning. For me, it’s the end of the line now.”
Marta was born seven years after Brazil lifted the ban against women playing soccer, on February 19, 1986, in Dois Riachos, Brazil. She was outcast by her male peers for playing soccer; Despite this, she kept on practicing until she was 14 and recruited by a scout for a chance to join an all-female team.
Marta played for the Umeå FC; when she was 17, she entered her first World Cup. She played 6 World Cups, including the match between Brazil and Jamaica, and scored 17 World Cup goals, topping the record for both men and women.
She was a huge influence on women’s soccer, resulting in her being Brazil’s first women’s soccer hero.
46-year-old Amanda Viana was part of the first generation of Brazilians who witnessed Marta’s talents in soccer.
““I was in elementary school when Brazil’s women reached the Olympic final in 2004. The games were shown in the school canteen and I’d cut class to watch them.” Viana said. “When I saw Marta breezing past her opponents, my eyes shone. She was spectacular. No one could get near her.”
Although Marta said she won’t be playing in any more World Cups, she won’t stop playing soccer. She currently plays for Orlando Pride.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/02/1191630255/brazil-women-world-cup-marta-legacy
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/21/1188256384/marta-brazil-women-soccer-fifa-world-cup
https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1686759420049358848
https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/7/23/brazil-marta-and-her-last-chance-at-world-cup-glory