Sunday, July 10, 2011

Marta, before "that goal"

On the eve of the showdown between Brazil and the US, I thought readers might enjoy looking at a couple early profiles of Marta - material produced before "that goal" (scored against the US in the 2007 World Cup). 

John Turnbull's 2006 profile of the player is one of the best out there:

'Tis the season for tears: The extraordinary, untold story of Marta Viera da Silva (The Global Game)

Almost everything on Marta tells the same story and was no doubt shaped by her press kit.  Leave it to Turnbull to do something meaningful, years before the American press paid her any attention. (I'd forgotten about the problems with Umeå not releasing her to play in the 2006 U20 World Cup finals - after she'd scored 14 goals helping Brazil qualify.)

In his article Turnbull refers to Marta - Pelé's Cousin, a 2005 Swedish television profile. This is also worth looking at, even if you don't understand Portuguese or Swedish. Watching Marta play, horse around with teammates in Sweden and visit her home town is rewarding enough - but it also includes footage of her scoring for Umeå and glimpses of her playing as a young girl. It's thoroughly enjoyable, especially when you remembers how young she was when this profile was filmed.

Already my heart is in my throat, waiting for today's game.


(This is the first of three parts on Youtube.)

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