Miraildes Maciel Mota (born 3 March 1978), commonly known as Formiga ( Portuguese for "ant"), is a Brazilian former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. She previously played for professional clubs in Sweden, the United States and France. Formiga holds many international records as a member of the Brazil national team, being the only player present in seven Olympic Games tournaments of women's football form the first edition at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

to 2020 edition, and a record for appearing at seven different

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

tournaments. Formiga was a member of the Brazil national team for 26 years (the longest in football history) and is the most capped football player in the history of the Brazil national teams (men's or women's), gaining her 234th and final cap in a 6–1 win over

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

at the 2021 International Women's Football Tournament of Manaus. She is the only football player in history (men's or women's) to play in seven World Cups and seven Olympic Games.

Club career

Early career

Born in Salvador, Formiga was born during a period when it had become illegal for women to play football in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The family moved to nearby

Camaçari Camaçari is a city in Bahia, Brazil. It is located at . It is part of the Salvador, Bahia, Salvador Metropolitan Region (''Região Metropolitana de Salvador''), being the industrial city of the metropolis. Camaçari covers , and had an estimate ...

when she was nine years old. Formiga began playing football at the age of 12, although she was sometimes beaten up by her brothers who did not want her to join in. She was supported by her mother, Dona Celeste, who took her to play

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

for the nearby Euroexport club. Formiga performed well at Euroexport and had a good relationship with the coach Dilma Mendes. She came to the notice of national team selectors while at Euroexport, but when national team players were encouraged to move to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

-based clubs in preparation for the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, coach Mendes helped her to sign for Saad. In 1997 Formiga joined newly-formed

São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube () is a professional Association football, football club in the Morumbi, São Paulo, Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil. It plays in Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo (state), São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

where she won state and national titles. São Paulo FC closed their women's section in 2000 and Formiga did not play in the controversial

2001 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Feminino The 2001 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Feminino was the sixth edition of the São Paulo state championship for women's football, and the first to be organized directly by the Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF). This edition was organized in ...

. She was among six Brazilian players reported to have engaged a

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

-licensed

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...

with a view to joining the nascent

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Uni ...

in the United States. However she was not included in the 2000 WUSA foreign player allocation and instead played the 2001 season with Santa Isabel of

Ubá Ubá is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the Zona da Mata (Minas Gerais), Zona da Mata Mesoregion (Brazil), mesoregion of Minas Gerais, Brazil, southeast of Belo Horizonte, and north of Rio de Janeiro. The estimated populatio ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. She joined a competitive team assembled under Formiga's former Saad and national team coach Dema, which won the 2001 Campeonato Brasileiro as hosts. In 2002 Formiga spent a brief period with Santos, joining alongside Valeria and playing under future national team coach Kleiton Lima. She was restricted to local friendly appearances as the São Paulo state and national competitions had collapsed. Also in 2002, Formiga was part of Santa Cruz's Minas Gerais state championship-winning team.

Sweden

Immediately after playing at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Formiga joined the Swedish

Damallsvenskan The (; ), known as OBOS for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is one of the best women's leagues in the world, and was founded in 1988. The division consists of a league of 14 teams. From 2013, t ...

as a member of Malmö FF Dam. She had been playing indoor football for the previous two years. Formiga made a favourable impression in her first two months with the club, who were pleased when she agreed to extend her contract in December 2004. Private sponsors agreed to cover her substantial 75,000 kr salary for the first half of the 2005 season. She helped Malmö finish second in 2005, but the club could not afford to extend her contract again, describing her as "an expensive solution".

Brazil

At the inaugural

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

edition of the Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino, Formiga helped Saad (playing under the banner of

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...

) beat

Botucatu Botucatu is a city in the southeastern region of Brazil and is located from São Paulo, the capital of the state of São Paulo. It has an estimated population of 148,130 (as of 2020) in an area of . It lies on the top of a plateau ( high). Botuca ...

on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the final at

Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha Arena BRB Mané Garrincha, formerly Estádio Nacional de Brasília Mané Garrincha, also known as ''Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha'', ''Estádio Nacional de Brasília'', or simply ''Mané Garrincha'', is a football stadium and multipurpose a ...

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

. She left the field in an ambulance before the shootout having fallen ill, but later returned to join in the celebrations. In 2008, she played for Botucatu and scored in the second leg of their Campeonato Paulista final victory over Saad. Formiga enjoyed playing for Botucatu and rejoined the team for their

2009 Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino The 2009 Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino was the third staging of the competition. The competition started on September 24, 2009, and concluded on December 5, 2009. 32 clubs of all regions of Brazil participated of the cup, which is organized ...

campaign. She missed a late penalty kick in the 3–0 final defeat by Santos.

United States

With the

New Jersey Wildcats The New Jersey Wildcats is an American women's soccer team, founded by Vincent Baldino in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League (1995–2015), W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and C ...

in the 2006 USL W-League season, Formiga was deployed as a forward, scoring 13 goals in 12 games. She returned to the

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

with Jersey Sky Blue, where she was less prolific in front of goal: scoring once in six appearances but serving five assists. Formiga was the first overall pick for the newly inaugurated

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 ...

(WPS) league in the United States in the

2008 WPS International Draft The 2008 WPS International Draft took place on September 24, 2008. It was the first international draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of international players to the American-based teams. For the 2009 season, teams ...

, selected by FC Gold Pride of

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Clare of Assisi, Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns i ...

. She joined a Brazilian enclave at the club, alongside teammates Érika and Adriane, as well as assistant coach Sissi (who made a playing comeback in the second half of the season). Formiga started 15 of her 16 games for Gold Pride, who finished seventh of seven teams in their inaugural season in 2009. She was a late selection for the 2009 WPS All-Star Game as a replacement for five English and French players who were absent at

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

, but was herself ruled out with a knee

sprain A sprain is a soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers made of collagen that connect two or ...

. The following season, Formiga played for

Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...

, alongside compatriot Cristiane. In the 2010 Chicago Red Stars season the club finished sixth of seven teams, then withdrew from the WPS at the end of the campaign.

Back to Brazil

In 2011, Formiga returned to her home country to play for São José. She helped her new club win the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

edition of the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

as tournament hosts, scoring in the 2–1 semi-final win over holders Santos. The following year she helped São José win the 2012 Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino and Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Feminino, beating Centro Olímpico in both finals. However they lost their Copa Libertadores title after a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

defeat by Foz Cataratas in the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

semi-final. In 2012 Formiga also played for América de Natal in their undefeated Rio Grande do Norte state title-winning campaign. São José remained competitive on all fronts in 2013, and in May Formiga scored in the 5–1 aggregate final win over Vitória das Tabocas to secure the 2013 Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino. She also equalised in São José's drawn Campeonato Paulista final with Ferroviária, but the competition rules saw their opponents win the title due to a better record in the first phase. In November São José recaptured the Copa Libertadores, defeating

Formas Íntimas Club Deportivo Formas Íntimas or Formas Íntimas for short, is a Colombian women's football club based in Medellín. They compete in the tournaments organized by the amateur Antioquia Football League (''Liga Antioqueña de Fútbol''), although t ...

3–1 in the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

final. The following month São José were beaten by Centro Olímpico in the inaugural Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino final, after which Formiga reflected: "We're not going to win everything". Formiga played as São José narrowly failed to win a third consecutive Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino in June 2014, losing the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

final on penalties to Ferroviária. She was absent when São José turned the tables on Ferroviária to win back the Campeonato Paulista in August 2014, but was back in the team which thrashed Caracas FC to collect a third Copa Libertadores title in November

. In December Formiga featured for São José at the

2014 International Women's Club Championship The 2014 International Women's Club Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Nestlé Cup, was the third worldwide international women's association football, women's football club tournament, held in Japan from 30 November to 6 December ...

, which they won by beating English wild card entrant

Arsenal Ladies Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as just Arsenal, is an English professional women's association football, women's football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, London, England. The club plays in the FA Women' ...

2–0 in the final at Nishigaoka Soccer Stadium,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Shortly after that success the São José team broke up and the entire coaching staff departed. Several leading players, including "símbolo da equipe" () Formiga, were given central contracts by the

Brazilian Football Confederation The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, sepa ...

(CBF) and called into a new "seleção permanente" () intended as preparation for the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

in Canada and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Formiga briefly returned to São José in late 2015, when the club's new coach Emily Lima picked her in a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

which assigned the permanent national team players to clubs in the knockout stages of the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino. In the final she assisted Chú Santos's goal which leveled the second leg, but São José lost 2–1 to Rio Preto on aggregate. In 2016 the seleção permanente player draft sent Formiga to São Francisco do Conde, a team from her native Bahia.

France

In January 2017, following the expiry of her CBF contract, she signed for French

Division 1 Féminine Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...

club

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

. In 2016–17 she appeared in 16 games across Division 1, Coupe de France Féminine and the

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...

. She made 24 appearances in 2017–18, and captained the team to their 1–0 Coupe de France final win over rivals

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. Although Formiga had turned 40 years old, missed part of the club season at the 2018 Copa América Femenina, and required a knee operation, she was well regarded at the Parisien club, who extended her contract in August 2018. Having extended her contract by another year in May 2019, Formiga became the UEFA Women's Champions League's oldest ever goal scorer in Paris Saint-Germain's 7–0

Round of 32 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

win at

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

. A few weeks later she broke her own record by scoring in a 4–0

Round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

win over Breiðablik, at 41 years and 227 days old. A further one-year contract was agreed in May 2020. In April 2021 Formiga took great satisfaction from contributing to Paris Saint-Germain's hard-fought 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final win over dominant Lyon. Her 100th and final Paris Saint-Germain appearance came in June 2021; as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 win over

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

which secured the club's first

2020–21 Division 1 Féminine The 2020–21 Division 1 Féminine season, also known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, was the 47th edition of Division 1 Féminine since its establishment in 1974. The season began on 5 September 2020 and ended on 5 June 2021. Lyon were the ...

title and denied Lyon a 15th consecutive championship.

Later career

Formiga agreed a return to São Paulo FC in June 2021, 21 years after her last successful spell with the club. She also had an offer from

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

. She announced her departure from São Paulo in December 2022, aged 44, after defeat in the Campeonato Paulista semi-final by Santos. She played 25 games in her second spell at the club, scoring once. She subsequently criticised São Paulo for its "disrespectful" policy of demanding that outgoing players return all their used club

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

. In January 2023 she was reported to be in negotiations with

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Cruzeiro Esporte Clube () is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Cruzeiro is the greatest team of Minas Gerais. Although competing in a number of different sports, Cruzeiro is mostly known for its as ...

, but the

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

club were unable to match her salary demands.

International career

Formiga first played for the Brazil national team at the age of 17, as part of the squad for the

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway women's national football team, Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament fea ...

, playing as a substitute. The following year, during the inaugural tournament for women's football at the

, she became a regular starter in the Brazilian team. Formiga and

Pretinha Delma Gonçalves (born 19 May 1975), commonly known as Pretinha,In a June 199with Grant Wahl, Pretinha said her nickname means "little black girl" and that the reference to skin color is not considered problematic in Brazil. is a Brazilian prof ...

were the only two Brazilian players who participated in the first four

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

tournaments of women's football, winning the silver medal in both

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

– both finals lost to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She returned in the 2012 and 2016 tournaments, setting an outright record as the only player present in the first six editions of the Olympics tournament. She participated at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, as well. The

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...

was Formiga's record-breaking seventh consecutive major tournament appearance;

Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German association football, football pundit and former professional player and manager. He captained Germany national football team, West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and was ...

, Antonio Carbajal, and Rafael Márquez share the record of five consecutive appearances in the men's competition. Along the way, Formiga's Brazil reached third place in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and were runners-up to

Birgit Prinz Birgit Prinz (born 25 October 1977) is a German former footballer, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year. In addition to the German national team, Prinz played for 1. FFC Frankfurt in the Frauen ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Formiga became the competition's oldest goalscorer with a goal against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

on 9 June 2015. She was 37 years, three months and six days old. Formiga also won the gold medal in three editions of the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, and winning the silver in

when Brazil was beaten by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She scored in the 2003 final as Brazil beat Canada 2–1 with a

golden goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

to secure their first Pan American Games title. Formiga retired from the Brazil national team in 2016 but returned in 2018 to compete in the

Copa América Femenina The Copa América Femenina (''Copa América Feminina'' in Portuguese), previously the ''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol Femenino'' (''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol Feminino''), usually shortened to ''Sudamericano Femenino'' (''Sul-America ...

in Chile. She also appeared for Brazil at the 2019 World Cup, becoming the oldest player in the tournament's history at the age of 41. On 1 December 2020, Formiga played her 200th match with Brazil in an 8–0 win over

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. Formiga played in the

, to become the first female player to participate in seven Olympic Games. In November 2021, she announced her second retirement from the Brazil national team. On 26 November 2021, Formiga played her last match for

in their 6–1 win over

at the 2021 International Women's Football Tournament of Manaus, officially retiring from the national team.

International goals

Style of play

She has cited Dunga,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the male Brazil national team that won the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

as the biggest influence on her playing style. She earned the nickname Formiga, which means

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

in Portuguese, as a teenager because of her unselfish style of play which reminded fellow players of the way ants worked together as a colony.

Personal life

Formiga

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

her female partner Erica Jesus in January 2023. The couple first met in 1996, but drifted apart due to the limited progress of LGBT rights in Brazil making

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

relationships difficult to maintain at that time. They met again in 2017. A strong advocate of women's football in Brazil, Formiga is an activist athlete who has fought prejudice: "I had to work hard to conquer my space and prove who I was. Not only as a player, but also as... Miraildes Maciel Mota. Woman. Black.

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

. Lesbian. And, above all, as a person who never thought of doing anything other than playing football."

Honours

São Paulo * Campeonato Brasileiro Feminino: 1997 * Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Feminino: 1997, 1999 *Torneio da Primavera Rio-São Paulo: 1997 * Brasil Ladies Cup: 2021 Botucatu * Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Feminino: 2008 São José *

* Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino:

* International Women's Club Championship:

* Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Feminino: 2012, 2014, 2015 Paris Saint-Germain *

: 2020–21 * Coupe de France Féminine: 2017–18 Brazil *

* Sudamericano Femenino:

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

silver medal:

Individual * IFFHS CONMEBOL Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020 *Trophées FFF D1 Féminine Team of the Year: 2017–2018

References

External links

* * * *
Saad player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Formiga 1978 births Living people Footballers from Salvador, Bahia Brazilian women's footballers Olympic footballers for Brazil Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2003 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2011 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2015 Pan American Games Olympic silver medalists for Brazil 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players FC Gold Pride players Olympic medalists in football USL W-League (1995–2015) players FIFA Women's Century Club Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Brazil women's international footballers Santos FC (women) players FC Rosengård players Damallsvenskan players Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Expatriate women's footballers in France Chicago Red Stars players Women's association football midfielders Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil São José Esporte Clube (women) players Pan American Games gold medalists in football Pan American Games silver medalists in football New Jersey Wildcats players Saad Esporte Clube (women) players Première Ligue players Brazilian expatriate women's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Paris Saint-Germain FC (women) players Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games São Paulo FC (women) players Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino Série A1 players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Women's Professional Soccer players Brazilian lesbian sportswomen 21st-century Brazilian LGBTQ people 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen