Marta, the Female Pele, Signed By WPS WNY Flash, Makes Flash Favorite

John HowellJan 25, 2011

Buffalo, NY (January 25, 2011) — The Western New York Flash of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) announced on Tuesday that they have acquired the five-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Marta. The Flash has taken over Marta’s third year of her contract from the now-defunct FC Gold Pride.

Marta, who will be 25 this February, is the five-time FIFA World Player of the Year, a two-time WPS MVP as the Michelle Akers Player of the Year, and two-time PUMA Golden Boot Award winner. Marta helped lead the Bay Area (CA) to the 2010 WPS Championship this past season, scoring one goal and assisting on two others in the final, as she was named WPS Championship MVP.

The Brazilian National Team player won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics. Marta was also awarded the Golden Ball (MVP) at the 2004 FIFA U19 Women’s World Championships. In the 2007 Women’s World Cup, she won both the Golden Ball award as the best player and the Golden Boot award as the top scorer.

“We are thrilled to bring Marta to the WNY area. This is an incredible opportunity for the community and youth soccer players to embrace one of the best female players ever in their hometown. She has incredible physical attributes matched with phenomenal technical abilities. She is an extremely exciting player to watch and is important to the women’s game, and we are excited for her arrival,” Head Coach Aaran Lines said.

“As the league MVP in our first two seasons and the FIFA World Player of the Year for the past five years running, it’s terrific for our league, our fans, our teams and all of our partners in WPS to have Marta playing in the U.S. for the 2011 season,” said WPS CEO Anne-Marie Eileraas. “Congratulations to Western New York, our 2011 expansion team, for signing one of the top stars—not just in soccer—but all of women’s sports.”

The Flash has already accumulated a talented roster including Ali Riley, last season's WPS Defender of the Year and Canada's Christine Sinclair, MVP of the just concluded "Four Nations Tournament," as well as taking US U23 international, Alex Morgan, named by ESPN as one of seven athletes to watch as their first draft choice in last week's collegiate draft. With the addition of Marta, the Western New York club has to be considered the odds-on favorite to win the 2011 WPS Championship, despite being an expansion team.