Marta, the sky is the limit

Source: www.maganews.com.br

Sport

Marta: the sky is the limit!

In January she was voted the best women’s soccer player in the world, for the fifth consecutive time

    Every year FIFA organizes a gala ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland, to toast [1] the best soccer players in the world. Attending [2] this event has become routine forBrazil's Marta. In January this year she was voted best player in the world for the fifth straight time. FIFA's glamorous gala evening contrasts with the poor childhood Marta had in Dois Riachos, a small town in Alagoas state. Marta Vieira da Silva was born in a very poor family. Her parents separated when she was just a baby. Her passion for soccer took hold [3] when she was seven years old. As there were no other girls who liked soccer there, she started playing with the boys.

International career and medals!

Marta was just 14 years old when she went to Rio de Janeiro to have a trial [4] for Vasco da Gama.  Years later she was signed [5] to play for a Swedish [6] club. The Brazilian player lived in the cold city of Umea for five years and even learned the Swedish language. In 2009 she left Europe for the United States to compete in the American League, the best organized women's soccer league in the world. In the past two years, Santos has managed to take Marta on loan [7] to play in some short tournaments. Playing for Brazil, she has won two gold medals at the Pan-American Games, in 2003 and 2007, and two silver medals at the Olympics, in 2004 and 2008, and was runner up [8] in 2007's world championship. Marta is just 24. Besides soccer, she has another passion: playing guitar.

Matéria publicada na edição de número 59 da revista Maganews.

(Áudio – Laís Hatton)

Foto - Bruno Miani 

Vocabulary

1 to toast – aqui = premiar / brindar

2 attending (to attend) – frequentar / comparecer

3 to take hold – exp. idiom. = despertar / começar

4 trial – teste

5 to sign – contratar / assinar contrato

6 swedish - sueco

7 to loan – tomar emprestado / por empréstimo

8 runner up - vice