This Is the Los Angeles Sol: Marta

This is Part 1 in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2009 Los Angeles Sol.

Mention the word Marta to soccer fans in Los Angeles, and you are talking about the Los Angeles Sol's star player. They see her as the reason why fans come to the games, and children young and old ask for her autographs in Section 119 of the Home Depot Center on Victoria Street in Carson.

Mention the word Marta to football fans outside the US, and you will get a variety of responses...and appraisals.

In Sweden, the people at the Gammliavallen in Umeå sing of her leadership in helping Umeå Idrottsklubb earn championships in the Damallsvenskan from 2005-08, as well as a UEFA Women's Cup crown in 2004. In Brazil, she is known as the "Pele with skirts."

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) have bestowed on Marta the title of Player of the Year for three straight years.

And like many footballing stars of times past and present, the story of Marta's legacy comes from humble beginnings.



Marta Vieira da Silva was born on February 19, 1986 in Dois Riachos, Alagoas. Dois Riachos (which means "The Two Little Rivers") is a small municipality, with a population of about 11,727 (as of 2005). The largest city in Alagoas is Maceio, which, as of today, is in contention to host matches in the FIFA 2014 World Cup.

At the age of 10, she played with the boys team at her primary school in Dois Riachos. Five years before, Marta was on the streets honing her skills through self-instruction.

In a place as small as Dois Riachos, news travels quickly. And once it was known, the naysayers came out in force.

“There wasn’t anybody for me to follow, or anyone to say to me, 'These are the steps you must take,'" said Marta in a recent interview with Michael Sokolove of the New York Times in April 2009. "I was almost always the only girl playing with boys in a small town. Some boys accepted me, some didn’t.

"Brazil is still a very macho society, and sports are mainly for boys, so people would say to them: 'What is this girl doing? Why is she always out there in the soccer games with the boys?'”

Little did those people know that this young small-town girl playing with the boys would end up becoming a legend. There was a reason, and they didn't know it yet.

Through family connections, Marta was noticed by Helena Pacheco, one of Brazil's well known coaches of the women's game, at the age of 14. A two-year stint with Vasco Da Gama, and one year with a club in the state of Minas Gerais gave way to her first professional club contract with Santa Cruz in 2002.

After success with this team from 2002-2004, Marta's big break came in 2004, when she signed with Umeå IK.

The floodgates opened.

In 2004, Umeå ripped through the competition in the UEFA Women's Cup, culminating in an 8-0 demolition of 1.FFC Frankfurt over two legs. Domestically, they played second fiddle to Djurgårdens IF Dam in the Damallsvenkan and the Svenska Cupen (Swedish Cup), losing 2-1.

But the 2004 season would be the last year Umeå would finish second in Damallsvenskan with Marta providing the firepower. With Marta scoring 22 goals in the league, and accounting for UIK's only goal, the writing appeared to be on the wall.

In 2005, Umeå completed a perfect unbeaten season. And Marta's 21 goals made her the top scorer in the Damallsvenskan. The following year, another unbeaten league campaign combined with another 21 goals from Marta was combined with a brace in both legs of the UEFA Women's Cup semifinal against Norway's Kolbotn FK.

Although the UEFA Cup escaped her hands against Arsenal, 2007 would see Marta break another hoodoo—that of the Svenska Cupen—in a big way: a hat trick against Allmänna Idrottsklubben, or AIK, in a 4-3 win.

What makes this win even more impressive is that her hat trick was secured in the 87th minute. That year, Umeå also completed a domestic treble by finishing nine points clear of Djurgården to finish top of the table, and defeating Linköping FC in the Supercupen (which features the champions of the Damallsvenskan and Svenska Cupen), 3-1.

Internationally, Marta started her career with Brazil in 2002, the product of a successful one-day tryout in Rio de Janeiro.

It's amazing how things can come full circle.

Marta's most defining moment in the green and gold kit came at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio. 68,000 greeted her at the Estádio do Maracanã as she scored two penalties in a comprehensive 5-0 shutout over the USA Under-20 team.

Pelé was on hand to witness the team's gold medal win, and he was in solidarity with the partisan supporters in nicknaming Marta "the Pelé with skirts." Her feet were even imprinted in the stadium cement of the Brazil Walk of Fame the same way many celebrities of the celluloid are immortalized at Mann's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

Currently, Marta is the leading scorer for the national team, known as As Canarinhas (The Lady Canaries), scoring 48 goals in 46 appearances.

In addition to her accomplishment at the Maracanã, Marta also would lead Brazil to silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, a quarterfinal appearance at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup and a runner-up finish at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.

2008 would be the final year Marta would play for Umeå IK. After leading the club to another Supercupen (3-0 shutout of Djurgården) and Damallsvenskan championship, Marta announced that she would sign with the Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS).

Marta would leave Umeå with many plaudits. They include 111 goals in 103 appearances, a Goal of the Year Award in 2005, FIFA Player of the Year awards from 2005-2008, the people's award locally and nationally in 2007, and the best player in the Damallsvenskan by many journalists from 2004-2007.

It is no surprise that with Marta's enviable track record and overall ability, she will be counted on to make the Los Angeles Sol a favorite to contend for a championship in the WPS.

She exemplifies the proof that the big-time players can come from small towns, towns that you wouldn't expect to be on the map.

On occasions, the No. 10 for the Sol does visit Dois Riachos to see old friends and family.

Perhaps those who questioned why she played with the boys at the age of 10 now realize that with everything she has been through, and everything she has accomplished more than a decade later, this was the right decision for Marta Vieira da Silva after all.