Soccer legend Marta arrives in time for home opener,
Brazilian star lands in time for home opener
Cameras clicked as she walked through the purple-draped gate onto the Orlando Pride training ground for the first time.
No one wanted to miss that moment: Marta Vieira da Silva in Pride gear, walking out to meet her new coach and teammates for the first time. She strolled across the pitch and greeted everyone’s wide smiles and excitement with hugs for all.
“Take it easy on me,” goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris said, grinning and tapping the best forward in the history of women’s soccer on the shoulder.
“I’ll try,” Marta said as she walked away from the group to warm up.
“As happy as I am feeling right now, getting here, meeting my teammates … I’m so excited, but, honestly, I just want to be ready and available for selection tomorrow, if the coach wishes,” Marta said during a media conference introducing her to the public ahead of her first training sessions.
That’s all fans want, too, and they’ll likely get to see her play in the Pride’s home opener at 4 p.m. today against the Washington Spirit. How long she’s in the game is the biggest question.
Marta’s flight from Sweden, which included a layover in Iceland, landed in Orlando late Thursday night. She then woke early for a 7 a.m. physical followed by a press conference and her first training session with her new team. Pride coach Tom Sermanni hadn’t spoken to her at all before she walked onto the field, but he doesn’t think she’ll have difficulty working into the group. He said she will definitely be on the game-day roster and he’s confident she will play, but whether she starts or subs on and how many minutes she competes is something he has yet to decide.
“I need to sit down with her and speak to her and get a feel of what’s right for her and what’s right for the team,” Sermanni said. “We want to make sure she’s here for a full season. It’s not like a one-off one-game wonder that we’re looking for. So we need to be really careful that we make the right decision.
“She’s done a lot of travel over the last couple of days. She has a huge amount of commitments today. So we need to weigh all those considerations.”
Her match fitness is not something he questions. Marta has more games under her this year than any of the Pride players, having recently competed in the UEFA Women’s Champions League with her club in Sweden and with the Brazilian national team. During national-team camp, she spoke with fellow Brazilian Pride players Monica and Camila about what to expect.
“I had an idea from social media and conversation how much fans are involved with the team in Orlando, but it was still surprising to see the amount of people at the airport to see me,” Marta said of the roughly 75 fans who showed up to greet her. “It was very exciting.”
That’s especially because she nearly wasn't able to get on the flight. She waited almost two weeks for her international visa paperwork to be processed and was uncertain she’d make it to Orlando in time for the Pride home opener.
“I was really looking forward to a call from the embassy about my paperwork,” Marta said. “It was almost like a goal scored after the 90th minute, but I was super happy.”
Sermanni said the ideal fit for Marta, who will wear No. 10, would be as part of a three-forward attack. The Pride struggled to score in their 2-0 season-opening loss to Portland. Marta should instantly improve the Pride in that area.
“Our priority is to establish a winning mentality,” Orlando City S.C. majority owner Flávio Augusto da Silva said. “And Marta, Marta is a winner.”