Just like Tennis, Football too seems to be primarily about Male football players. So much so that, we very conveniently forget about the achievements of women players in these games. Remember when a reporter at a press conference made a casually sexist remark that Sam Querrey is the first US semifinalist at the Wimbledon since 2009, completely forgetting about Serena Williams?
Yea, something similar happened when in recent days we kept talking about the Ronaldo-Messi dominance, and its being broken by Luka Modric.
No one ever talked about the person who until this year’s Fifa best player award, was having equal number of awards as both Ronaldo and Messi. And this year, she surpassed both of them by winning her sixth Fifa best player (female) award. She is Brazilian football star, Marta Vieira da Silva.
Here are some of the achievements of this star player (Source: thestatesman.com):
• Marta Vieira da Silva holds the record for the most goals scored in women’s World Cup and is also the only player to win the FIFA best player award consecutively for five years (from 2006 to 2010).
• Marta is considered as the greatest woman footballer of all time.
• She was born in 19 February 1986, just seven years after Brazil lifted a ban on women playing football even for recreational purposes.
• Marta Vieira made her debut in international football at the age of 16.
• She was also included in the 2003 World Cup squad and was part of the Brazil team that won the silver medal at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.
• Marta was awarded the Golden Ball (MVP) at the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship.
• In 2007 Women’s World Cup, Marta bagged the best player and the Golden Boot award after leading Brazil to the final of the tournament.
• She was also named one of the Ambassadors of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil along with Amarildo, Bebeto, Carlos Alberto Torres, Ronaldo and Mario Zagallo.
• Much like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Marta Vieira da Silva is yet to be win the FIFA World Cup.
