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ELMA, N.Y. (AP)—Don’t be fooled by the interpreter. Marta has picked up more than a couple of words of English over the three seasons she’s spent playing in the United States.

So the best women’s soccer player in the world had no need to wait for translation when it came to the question of how tired she is of winning silver, something Marta’s now done three times over eight years with the Brazilian national team.

“I’m not tired. I have silver here,” Marta said, smiling and tugging on the silver necklace she’s wearing as a show of proof. “I like silver. But for competition, of course, I want gold.”

In Portuguese, English or even Swedish, which she learned during five seasons with Umea, Marta’s message couldn’t have been clearer earlier this month. That’s when the Western New York Flash star was preparing to take a break from the Women’s Professional Soccer league to compete in the Women’s World Cup that opens in Germany on Sunday.

What’s also no secret is that Brazil’s chances of winning gold—and upsetting the favored Germans—hinge largely on the 25-year-old phenom, Marta Vieira da Silva, who customarily goes by her first name.

She’s the tiny, elusive 5-foot-3 striker with catlike dribbling skills, who’s unafraid to run into traffic and has an uncanny ability to find holes in opposing defenses to set up scoring opportunities. These are among the reasons Marta’s been dubbed “Pele with Skirts,” in her native Brazil.

“She is sensational, spectacular,” young Brazil men’s striker Neymar told The Associated Press in an email last month. “When she is on the field, it’s like she is playing a different sport. I think she is as important to the women’s national team as Ronaldo was to the men’s team.”

The Brazilians aren’t a one-woman show, as the team also features star forward Cristiane.

Marta, however, has become not only the face of the Brazilian squad, but all of women’s soccer for much of the past decade.

She’s been voted FIFA’s top women’s player for five years running and, last year, Marta joined Argentina’s Lionel Messi in being the inaugural winners of the FIFA Ballon d’Or. Marta also won a WPS championship—last year with the now-defunct FC Gold Pride—and has been awarded a title as a United Nations goodwill ambassador in the fight against poverty.

That leaves one item—something gold—still missing.

“It’s very important because I’ve won individual titles,” Marta said, this time through an interpreter. “Now I want to get a team medal, not just for me, but for the entire team, the athletes, the coaches and everyone. And for Brazil.”

With Marta on his side, Brazil coach Kleiton Lima likes his team’s chances.

“We’re going to the World Cup expecting to win the title,” Lima wrote in an email. “Marta once again will be the biggest name of the World Cup. Brazil will rely on a great player like her. But it will also rely on the rest of the squad. She won’t win the World Cup herself.”

Marta’s more than done her part so far. She scored a tournament-leading seven goals in the 2007 World Cup in China, when Brazil finished second following a 2-0 loss to Germany. She’s also combined to score six times in two Olympic tournaments, in which Brazil finished second to the U.S. in both 2004 and ’08.

It was after a 1-0 loss to the U.S. at the 2008 Beijing Games when Marta lamented, “I’m more than sad,” in a game in which she had six shots and was foiled by Hope Solo on a great scoring opportunity in the 72nd minute.

The silver medal did raise attention for the team in Brazil, but the soccer-mad nation has yet to fully warm to the women’s game. It was during the medal ceremony in China when Brazilian players held up a sign saying, “Brazil, we need support.”

Marta has been one to lead the campaign, and it’s why she was pleased to hear what Neymar had to say about her.

“It’s good to hear this,” she said. “Once you start getting attention from people, it comes with responsibility.”

Associated Press Writer Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo contributed to this story.

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