Brazilian striker Marta, generally considered the greatest women's footballer of all time, wanted nothing more than to win an Olympic gold medal in front of a home crowd at the Maracana stadium to cap her career.
That hope was dashed in Rio on Tuesday when Sweden beat Brazil in the semi-finals in a penalty shoot-out after a match dominated by the home side.
The crowd chanted Marta's name throughout the game and her runs from the right-wing towards the goal caused Sweden a lot of trouble.
It was not enough. As Lisa Dahlkvist fired in the winning penalty to silence the baying crowd, Marta could only sink to her knees in the centre circle. A Brazilian official knelt with her, hugging her in consolation.
Later she chatted with fans before heading into the dressing room, where all the Brazilian team were in tears.
"The disappointment is great and we had many opportunities in the game, but we did not get a goal," she said. "The pain is as great here (in the dressing room) as it is outside.
"I do not want to disappoint the people who were out there supporting us today. People not want to be disappointed," she said.
The 30-year-old Brazilian captain, who plays for the Swedish club Rosengard, could be nearing the end of a distinguished career. She was voted world player of the year five times in a row between 2006 and 2010.
Nicknamed "the Queen", and, less chivalrously, "Pele in Skirts", she has scored more than 100 goals in 109 internationals.
Even with her skills, major success has eluded the Brazilian women's team.
With her in the side, they won silver at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, and were runners-up in the World Cup in China in 2007. But a gold in Rio de Janeiro in the temple of Brazilian soccer would have been particularly sweet -- and would have boosted the women's game in Brazil, which has often lacked official support.
Speaking of Tuesday's performance, Marta said: "We didn't lack opportunities. The ball just didn't go in. We were needing a goal to break them."
She was also suffering from a cold.
The Swedes paid tribute to her, with coach Pia Sundhage saying: "I think she had a fantastic game and created problems for us."
"She can do things you don't expect her to do so of course we kept an extra eye on her," said Dahlkvist.
Speculation is now rife that Marta will retire soon but she did not want to talk about it on Tuesday.
"I don't want to think about this now," she said.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
