By ANNE M. PETERSON, AP Soccer Writer
PARIS (AP) — For her final international tournament with Brazil, Marta is back where it all started.
The six-time world player of the year was just 18 when she first played in the Olympics 20 years ago.
Back then, Brazil reached the gold medal match in Athens but fell to the United States 2-1. The two teams met in the final again at the 2008 Beijing Games, and Brazil again came away with the silver with a 1-0 loss.
So it’s fitting that for her international sendoff Brazil again faces the United States in the Olympic final. The two teams meet Saturday at Parc des Princes in Paris.
Marta, now 38, has said that after six Olympics and six Women’s World Cups, it’s time to hand over the team to the next generation. She has never won a major international title — either at the Olympics or World Cup.
So winning gold and beating the nemesis United States at the same time would be a sweet way to walk away.
“It’s been so much of my life, since I was 14, I left home and then I just live soccer every single day,” she told The Associated Press before the tournament. “I just feel like maybe it’s time to just take a little bit away from that and let the young players shine.”
Marta is well known to the young players on the U.S. team, not just because she’s one of the best women to ever play the game, but also because she plays in the United States with the Orlando Pride.
“Marta is for sure the player I looked up to growing up,” U.S. forward Sophia Smith said. “Whenever I would watch highlights of players with my dad, it was always Marta.”
The 23-year-old Smith plays for the Portland Thorns.
“We get to play against her in the NWSL, we’re really lucky for that,” she said, “and to play against her in this game, in this magnitude of the game, is so special. I know she would want us to give her our best game. That’s that’s the highest level of respect you can give someone.”
Better known just by her first name, Marta Vieira da Silva has scored a record 119 goals in 184 international appearances.
Marta grew up playing street soccer with the boys in Dois Riachos, a town in eastern Brazil some 1,250 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. She was just 17 when she appeared at the 2003 World Cup, held in the United States.
She has the career record for most World Cup goals with 17, and she has 13 Olympic goals, one away from matching compatriot Cristiane’s record.
“It goes without saying, Marta has changed the game of soccer around the world,” U.S. forward Trinity Rodman said. “She is such a talented soccer player, but also a great human, which speaks volumes. I’ve always looked up to her. I think we all kind of do. She’s a legend forever.”
Marta’s journey in her final big tournament has not been smooth.
She was handed a red card for a foul on Spain’s Olga Carmona in the Brazil’s final group-stage match. That merited a two-match suspension from FIFA, so she missed the quarterfinals against hosts France and the semifinals, again against Spain.
Brazil upset the Women’s World Cup champions 4-2 in a match Tuesday in Marseille.
“Honestly, in these games Marta was out, we did it for her,” teammate Angelina said. “We want to give her a really great sendoff. It was a dream of mine to play with Marta — and now it’s a dream come true.”
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
