Uma imagem vale mais que mil palavras! (Foto: @prodoutor) #saineymarENTRAMARTA pic.twitter.com/K9Ucl9AXtv
— Hession Dayan (@hessiondayan) August 8, 2016
The continued crappiness of the Brazilian men’s team has prompted the people of Brazil to finally recognize the brilliance of Marta, with one young fan even going so far as to cross out Neymar’s name from the back of his replica shirt and write in Marta’s.
Though Neymar was called in to lead Brazil to a first ever Olympic gold in football, the men’s team has failed to score in their first two matches of the Rio Olympics. Meanwhile, the women’s team has won their first two matches by a combined score of 8-1, with Marta scoring twice in a 5-1 win over Sweden. So the public has jumped onto the women’s team bandwagon and they’re letting the men’s team know it.
From the CBC:
When Brazil’s women’s team enchanted the crowd at the Olympic Stadium in a 5-1 rout of Sweden on Saturday, fans chanted “Marta is better than Neymar” several times.
“This comparison we leave to the fans. We all cheer for the men’s team and we know that they cheer for us,” said Marta, who scored twice in that match to help the women’s team easily reach the next round. “Neymar is the best player we have right now, he is fantastic.”
Brazil men’s coach Rogerio Micale praised Marta and the women’s team but downplayed the “Marta” chants at the men’s game.
On Twitter, #SeiNeymarEntraMarta (Get out Neymar, Enter Marta) became a trending topic as the women’s skill and toughness has been praised while the men’s weakness has been condemned.
While it’s great that Marta and her teammates are finally getting their due, it’s a shame that it took the men’s team crumbling for it to happen.
UPDATE: Spotted in the stands during the women’s match between the U.S. and Colombia — this is starting to catch on.
THIS GIRL’S SHIRT IN THE AUDIENCE pic.twitter.com/PiMBSqQoeM
— thrace (@thrace) August 9, 2016
And now the fickle fans are hitting Rio’s laundry services in droves. “Uhhhh, do you have anything that will remove permanent marker?”