Greatness is Marta's middle name, and just when it seemed she had done it all in soccer, the number 10 for Orlando Pride and the Brazilian national team pens yet another memorable chapter. At 38 years old, she became the first-ever winner of FIFA's Marta Award, created to recognize the most beautiful goal in women's soccer for the 2023/24 season. In a mix of poetic irony and undisputed brilliance, the honoree herself was the author of the feat.
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The award that carries her name
Created at the beginning of 2024, the Marta Award is a tribute to the unparalleled impact of the Brazilian player on women's soccer. The greatest winner of FIFA's Best Women's Player award with six titles, the Queen of Soccer is a figure that transcends the sport. Her name is synonymous with talent, fight, and representation. It is only fitting, then, that a trophy was created to celebrate the essence of women's soccer: goals that enchant and inspire.
Curiously, and poetically, the first winner of the award bears the name of the first winner. Among ten beautiful goals selected by experts and fan votes, Marta's stood out once again. "Competing against all these great players… The goals were fantastic," she said, emotional as she received the honor. "Receiving an award that bears my name is an enormous honor. I never imagined winning it right away.
Brilliance and moment of the goal
The awarded goal took place in a peculiar context: Marta, with the jersey of the Brazilian national team, scored in front of her home crowd in the Northeast, just weeks before competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A detail that makes all the difference: the connection with her roots, together with the importance of scoring one of her last-possibly not-one of her goals with the national team, makes the moment even more symbolic.
There were two goals in that match, but the awarded one is the portrait of her career: skill in the control of the ball with elegance, the composure to outmaneuver defenders, and the intelligence to finish with precision from almost an impossible angle.
Emotion of a never stopped legend
Besides shining with the Brazilian National Team, Marta also plays for Orlando Pride in the NWSL. Some of the great names of women's soccer have shone in the league, and Marta is one of the most respected and admired players in the competition. Even at 38 years old, the Brazilian stays relevant, on and off the field, inspiring new generations.
As usual, Marta showed her humor and lightheartedness when commenting on the achievement. “I’m already thinking about 2025 (laughs),” she said, drawing smiles during the ceremony. But behind the joke lies the essence of an athlete who never settles. She is competitive, passionate, and, above all, grateful. Scoring with the national team jersey on, and in my Northeast, is something very special," she added, remembering that soccer is also about roots.