When I signed for Rosengard in Sweden in 2013, I couldn’t believe I was walking into a locker room with Marta.
I remember one of our first team meetings and everyone spoke Swedish, including Marta. I was thinking “not only is he a superstar on the field, but he speaks Swedish as well as Portuguese, Spanish and English.” That woman’s talents were endless.
Swedish girls sometimes made fun of her for her grammar. But we loved that about her. He had the freedom and confidence to express himself. She drew people to her and they wanted to interact with her. We would say she was the teacher’s favorite with our general manager because she could get her way on anything.
She was my roommate and our personalities matched pretty well. It never really fazed me. I was like ‘oh, Marta is my roommate.’
There were similarities culturally and in our upbringing that connected us. There is a lot of Afro-Brazilian culture where she is from and I grew up in an African home. Our parents talk loudly, there is always music, food everywhere, and family coming and going through the door. We could relate to each other.
My best memories of Marta were always the team social gatherings. I remember her attending a postseason party at one of the girls’ apartment with a cooler of champagne. We simply thought ‘only Marta could do that’.
One time we were in Spain playing the Champions League and she wanted to go shopping. She kept asking to buy me things and I was like, ‘I’m fine!’ She was always trying to make others happy.
She brought so much energy and charisma. When we won, she always came into the locker room and started moving her hips, dancing.
What I always found funny was that he loved dogs and had a chihuahua in Sweden that he treated like a baby. I’m sure he had dog spa days at his apartment. She was dancing with the dog and it makes me laugh to think of the juxtaposition of this fearless-minded monster on the court, who is just a big softie off it.
That’s the beauty of it. I got to know her pretty well as my roommate. We traveled a lot and she watched Brazilian soap operas. I asked her what was happening and she told me about this whole love story. She would get so immersed in the excitement of it all!
He was totally in his comfort zone. She also always traveled with a guitar and sang songs in Portuguese. I would sit there while she serenaded me. It was class.
