Brazil legend Marta , 38, is set to retire from international football after the 2024 Olympic Games this month, but after receiving a red card in the final group-stage game against Spain, it looked like her career would end on a low as she was banned for the quarterfinals and semifinals. However, she will get a chance to end with a gold medal as Brazil beat Spain in the semifinal, ensuring she can play her final game against the USWNT on Saturday. What legacy has she left on the women's game? We spoke to those who know her best to tell the story of her incredible career.
Information from ESPN Brasil was used in this piece, which was first published on July 24 and has been updated. The Beginning 1. Long before she became the best women's soccer player in the world, Marta was seven years old, the only girl playing on a dirt field in Brazil.
The games were played in a dry creek, the goals forged from three sticks to make both posts and a crossbar. She had grown up in poverty, playing without shoes, then later stuffing newspaper into the bottom of her used boots to make them fit. Her single mother had worked long hours to provide for her and three siblings.
But she would dribble and weave with the ball like it was tied to her foot. "She was born to play futebol ," her childhood coach, Tota, tells ESPN. Born to? Everyone says that now, but supposed to? Definitely not.
There were always comments. "She can't play, she's a girl," they often said. Some even asked her mother why she le.