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 lea ...

who plays for

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () 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-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

and the Brazilian women's national team. 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 player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

or " volante" (

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

) for the senior national team. She was part of Brazil's silver medal-winning team at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and also played at the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

, the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were 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 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, and the

2020 Tokyo 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 ...

. 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 ...

(WPS) franchise

FC Gold Pride FC Gold Pride was an American professional women's soccer club based in the San Francisco Bay Area, which participated in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). The club replaced the San Jose CyberRays of the defunct Women's United Soccer Associati ...

. After the demise of Santos, Érika and nine other former Santos players agreed to join

Centro Olímpico Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Du ...

. She played for

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 ...

between 2015 and 2018 before returning to Brazil with

Club career

At six years old, Érika became the first female pupil at

Marcelinho Carioca Marcelo Pereira Surcin (born 1 February 1971), known as Marcelinho Carioca, is a former Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known as ''Pé de Anjo'' (Angel's Foot) for his Direct free k ...

's football school. She then played futebol de salão 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 s ...

, 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 The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

in 2007 and the 2008 Copa do Brasil. Érika was picked by

, a team in the new

from

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 ...

, 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 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Érika was made a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

at the season's close by

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

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 Banco Santander, Santander Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino 2009) for sponsorship reasons) was the first edition of the Copa Libertadores Femenina, CONMEBOL's premier annual internatio ...

-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 Pacaembu Stadium (, ; named after the Pacaembu neighbourhood), currently known as Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. Located in the Pacaembu neighbourhood, it is owne ...

. In early 2012, Santos'

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

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), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or Forward (association foo ...

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

press conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...

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. 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 ...

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

. In late 2013, Érika suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

, 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. ...

contenders

Paris Saint-Germain Féminines Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain or simply PSG, are a French professional women's football club based in Paris. Founded in 1971, they compete in the Première Ligue, the top division of Fr ...

. Both were named in the 2015–16

French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF and 3F; or Triple F; , ) is the governing body of football in France. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF is a founding member of FIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspec ...

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 The Coupe de France Féminine (, ''Women's French Cup'') is the top annual cup tournament for French women's football clubs. The competition is open to all professional and non-professional women's teams in France. Founded in 2001 as Challenge ...

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 ...

. 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. They usually cause no symptoms, but occasionally they may produce bloating, lower abdominal pain, or lower back pain. The majority of cysts are harmless. If the cyst either #Cyst rupture, br ...

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, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

during the 2021 Copa Libertadores Femenina. She returned to fitness, almost a year later, in time for the 2022 Copa Libertadores Femenina.

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 edition ...

. She also featured at the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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

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 ...

, 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. In November 2006, Érika made her senior international debut 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 ...

's 6–1 South American Women's Football Championship win over

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Estadio José María Minella The Estadio José María Minella is a stadium in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is owned and administrated by the Municipality of General Pueyrredón. Inaugurated for the 1978 FIFA World Cup hosted by Argentina, the stadium is currently ...

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

. She was withdrawn from Brazil's

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

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 Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

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 ...

. 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 () was the sixth edition of the South American Women's Football Championship, and acted as a qualifier for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics. The tournament was held ...

win over

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, which ensured qualification for the following year's

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 ...

in Germany. At the

, Érika scored Brazil's opening goal in a 3–0 win over

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

. 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 co ...

and then

Abby Wambach Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired Association football, soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on ...

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, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

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 ...

.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 motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

before a record crowd of 70,584 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. That meant a quarter-final against World Cup holders

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, who eliminated Brazil by winning 2–0 at Cardiff's

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

. 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 both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

, 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 f ...

, Érika sustained a knee injury and was replaced in the squad by

Rafinha Rafinha is the diminutive form of the given name Rafael. It can refer to: Brazilian footballers * Rafinha (footballer, born 1982), Rafael Scapini de Almeida, midfielder and defender * Rafinha (footballer, born 1983), Rafael da Silva Francisco, mi ...

. Érika recovered from her injury and was named to the Brazil squad for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, 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, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...

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 for American club Portland Thorns FC and the Brazil women's national team. ...

. 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 ...

, postponed until 2021 by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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. 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 (message), 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 (mess ...

, 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 as a beach football side in 1981 and restructured for associa ...

and Brazil's

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

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 for 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 FC (women) players Expatriate women's footballers in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Première Ligue players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista (women) players Pan American Games gold 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 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen