Érika Cristiano dos Santos (born 4 February 1988), commonly known as Érika, is a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays for

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

and the

Brazilian women's national team Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may also ...

. Érika played as a forward for her clubs and Brazil's youth teams, but mainly as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or " volante" (

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

) for the senior national team. She was part of Brazil's silver medal-winning team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and also played at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, and the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

. At the club level, Érika enjoyed three successful spells with Santos and was hurt when the male parent club disbanded the female section in 2012. She also spent the 2009 season with American

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 sea ...

(WPS) franchise

FC Gold Pride FC Gold Pride was an American professional soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association as the top-le ...

. After the demise of Santos, Érika and nine other former Santos players agreed to join Centro Olímpico. She played for

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

between 2015 and 2018 before returning to Brazil with

Club career

At six years old, Érika became the first female pupil at Marcelinho Carioca's football school. She then played

futebol de salão Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is the ...

for Associação Sabesp, where the rules were changed to allow her to compete against adults at the age of 12. Érika's mother arranged a place at

Clube Atlético Juventus Clube Atlético Juventus (Latin for ''Youth''), commonly referred to as Juventus da Mooca or simply Juventus, is a Brazilian professional football club in the district of Mooca, São Paulo, that competes in Campeonato Paulista Série A2, the ...

, where she began playing outdoors and quickly came to the attention of national youth team selectors and leading women's club Santos. With Santos Érika won the Campeonato Paulista in 2007 and the 2008 Copa do Brasil. Érika was picked by

, a team in the new

from

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

, 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 ...

. The team's assistant coach was Sissi, Érika's compatriot and mentor. After appearing in seven FC Gold Pride games during 2009, Érika was made a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

at the season's close by coach Albertin Montoya. She returned to Santos and was part of the club's

2009 Copa Libertadores Femenina The 2009 Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino (officially Copa Santander Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino 2009) for sponsorship reasons) was the first edition of the Copa Libertadores Femenina, CONMEBOL's premier annual international women's club ...

-winning team in November 2009, scoring twice in the 9–0 final win over UAA. The following month Santos retained the Copa do Brasil after beating

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 ...

3–0 in the final at

Estádio do Pacaembu Estádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho, colloquially known as Estádio do Pacaembu (), is an Art Deco stadium in São Paulo, located in the Pacaembu neighborhood. The stadium is owned by the Municipal Prefecture of São Paulo. The stadium w ...

. In early 2012, Santos' board of directors scrapped the women's section to save money after the club handed their male player

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...

a gigantic new contract. Érika was surprised and hurt by the development. She cried at the

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

announcement and publicly contemplated a contract offer from a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

n club. With Neymar's assistance, Érika and the displaced Santos players secured around $1,500,000 in external

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

. But Santos' board refused to reverse their decision, claiming that the women's team cost $2,000,000 a year to run and provided no financial return. Instead ten of the players including Érika moved to Centro Olímpico. In late 2013, Érika suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which kept her out of football for around ten months, until September 2014. In August 2015 Érika and compatriot Cristiane made a double

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

to French

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. The ...

contenders Paris Saint-Germain Féminines. Both were named in the 2015–16 French Football Federation Team of the Season. In January 2017 Paris Saint-Germain agreed to release Érika from the final six months of her contract, as she had returned to Brazil to rehabilitate an injury. In July 2017, having recovered, she agreed to return to Paris Saint-Germain on a new one-year contract. She made 20 appearances in 2017–18, including the 1–0

Coupe de France Féminine A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

final win over rivals

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

. On the expiry of her contract she returned to Brazil for surgery on

ovarian cyst An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac within the ovary. Often they cause no symptoms. Occasionally they may produce bloating, lower abdominal pain, or lower back pain. The majority of cysts are harmless. If the cyst either breaks open or causes ...

s. She had an offer from a Chinese club but preferred to stay close to her family after three years away. She accepted an offer to join

and remarked upon a "gigantic evolution" in Brazilian club football since she moved away to France. Érika became an important part of a successful team at Corinthians, the club she supported. She suffered another anterior cruciate ligament injury in November 2021, when training with Corinthians in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

during the 2021 Copa Libertadores Femenina. She returned to fitness, almost a year later, in time for the

2022 Copa Libertadores Femenina The 2022 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina was the 14th edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores Femenina''), South America's premier women's club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Th ...

International career

At 15 years old, Érika played for Brazil at the

2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship The 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship was held from 10 to 27 November 2004. It was the second edition of the youth tournament for women put together by FIFA, before being renamed FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship for the 2006 editio ...

. She also featured at the 2006 edition of the event, which had changed to under-20 from under-19, as Brazil came third. Still eligible in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Érika scored two goals in Brazil's run to the quarter-finals and was named in the tournament all-star team. She had been the joint top goal scorer with seven goals at the 2008 South American Under-20 Women's Football Championship, which served as the qualifying tournament. Érika 2012 Olympics

In November 2006, Érika made her senior international debut in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

's 6–1

South American Women's Football Championship South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

win over Bolivia at Estadio José María Minella, Mar del Plata. She was withdrawn from Brazil's

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic C ...

squad two days before the tournament, with injured ankle ligaments. At the

edition of the Olympic Football Tournament, Érika replaced Andréia Rosa in central defence after the first match. She remained in the team and collected a silver medal when Brazil lost the final 1–0 after extra time to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. In November 2010, Érika scored Brazil's first goal in a 5–0

2010 South American Women's Football Championship The 2010 South American Women's Football Championship ( es, Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino – Copa América de Selecciones) was the sixth edition of the South American Women's Football Championship, and acted as a qualifier for the 2011 FIFA Wom ...

win over Colombia, which ensured qualification for the following year's FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. At the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, Érika scored Brazil's opening goal in a 3–0 win over Equatorial Guinea. Brazil then lost a controversial quarter-final on penalties to the United States after a 2–2 draw. American players, supporters and media were unhappy that Érika appeared to exaggerate an injury during extra time to use up valuable seconds. Érika was shown the

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

and then Abby Wambach equalised in time which the referee had added on for the contentious injury. Érika went to her second Olympic football tournament at

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. FIFA.com described her as one of the team's key players. Amidst allegations of a broken down

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

plot, Brazil lost their final group E game 1–0 to hosts

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

before a record crowd of 70,584 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

. That meant a quarter-final against World Cup holders Japan, who eliminated Brazil by winning 2–0 at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. She returned to the national team for the 2014 Torneio Internacional de Brasília de Futebol Feminino after almost two years away with injuries. She recalled playing in every outfield position for the national team, except on the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

, and was happy to keep fitting in where required. On the eve of 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 ...

, Érika sustained a knee injury and was replaced in the squad by Rafinha. Érika recovered from her injury and was named to the Brazil squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, her third Olympic tournament. She appeared in two matches, including the bronze medal match, which hosts Brazil lost 2–1 to Canada. Érika arrived at Brazil's training camp for 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 championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. I ...

with a sprained ankle, then suffered a calf injury. She was removed from the squad and replaced by

Daiane Limeira Daiane Limeira Santos Silva (born 7 September 1997), commonly known as Daiane Limeira or simply Daiane, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (women), F ...

. At the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, postponed until 2021 by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Érika participated in her fourth Olympic Games.

Career statistics

International

''Updated 30 July 2021.''

International goals

Personal life

Érika is an outspoken advocate of

women's football in Brazil Women's football is not as popular in Brazil as men's football, although it has increased in popularity since the 2000s. History Due to strong and continuing social stigma, Brazilian society only minimally supports women's football. There is a ...

. When Brazil lost 5–1 to Germany at the

2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was an international association football tournament and the world championship for women's national teams under the age of 20, presented by Grant Connell, organized by the sport's world governing body FIFA. I ...

, she rejected misleading comparisons to the wealthy male team's recent 7–1 defeat by Germany at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In a damning

open letter An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...

, signed by 100 female athletes, she branded Brazil "a sexist and bigoted country that never believed in, accepted, or invested properly in women's football". One of Érika's coaches at youth level was Marcinha, a pioneering veteran of

EC Radar Esporte Clube Radar was a Brazilian professional women's association football club, based in the Copacabana (Rio de Janeiro), Copacabana neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1981, they enjoyed unprecedented success in the early days ...

and Brazil's

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It took place in Guangdong, China from 16 to 30 November 1991. FIFA, football's international gove ...

squad.

Honors

Individual

* IFFHS CONMEBOL Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020

References

External links

* *
2008 Olympics player profile

Santos FC player profile

Women's Professional Soccer player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erika 1988 births Living people Brazilian women's footballers Women's association football defenders Olympic footballers of Brazil Olympic silver medalists for Brazil Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics FC Gold Pride players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players Olympic medalists in football Santos FC (women) players Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Brazil women's international footballers Associação Desportiva Centro Olímpico players Footballers from São Paulo Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Brazilian expatriate women's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Women's Professional Soccer players Paris Saint-Germain Féminine players Expatriate women's footballers in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Division 1 Féminine players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista (women) players Pan American Games medalists in football Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Footballers at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics