There were plenty of tears — on both sides — throughout world soccer when Marta formally announced her retirement from international soccer in 2024.
It essentially meant the Brazilian legend and one of the last bastions of the heyday of women’s soccer was gone.
After bringing Brazil to the brink of a gold medal against the United States at the Summer Games in Paris, Marta opted then to call it quits representing Brazil on the international stage.
It was a good time to go. She still had a thriving club career with the NWSL’s Orlando Pride going and she’d be leaving world soccer as a six-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year, not to mention still holding the record for a most goals in a single FIFA World Cup (17), still tops for men or women.
Tack on too, that her impact on the women’s game is highlighted not just by her remarkable play of the field, but the contributions and strides she’s helped make in the game as an ambassador for the sport, and a woman’s right to play in it, at any age.
She’s famously known for saying, during a tear-filled announcement in 2023:
“I want all women to also be able to see a promising future where it isn’t targeted just at football [soccer] or sport, but at any activity, because what we are striving for every day, and for what God intended for us is to try to make the world a better place for everyone.”
It should be noted that Marta also ended last year guiding the Pride to the NWSL title, an exclamation point on a phenomenal year and career, that at age 38, many wondered how long would it take before she was seen in the signature purple kit of Orlando for the final time.
Queue this summer when it was announced that Marta, would emerge from retirement for South America’s largest women’s tournament, the Copa America Femenina. Brazil battled all the way to the tournament’s final but found themselves down 3-2 late in the second half.
Enter 39-year-old Marta, who already retired from the sport, locked in as she prepares to enter the game in the 82nd minute. With just eight minutes plus any extra time awarded, it’d be tough to for anyone to be able to enter a game and make that immediate of an impact.
Unless you’re a lover of women’s soccer or watched that match live, you wouldn’t know that it would be Marta, who led the way in Brazil lifting what would be their ninth title with Marta on roster after she scored two goals — both one in extra time to tie the score at 3-3 and then again in overtime, to give Brazil a 4-3 lead.
Colombia would ensure the Brazilians earned it after scoring in the 115th minute to tie the game, again bringing it to a penalty shootout, which Brazil ultimately won, it’s fifth consecutive Copa Femenina crown.
Since her heroics, Marta hasn’t announced if she’d return to retirement, which would be difficult to see her do, considering the serendipitous nature of next year’s women’s FIFA World Cup is in Brazil. But after a now staggering 122 goals in 206 matches wearing the signature yellow, green and blue of Brazil, whatever this legend decides to do, she’s already earned it — now twice over.
