Lessons in Leadership: Marta Vieira Da Silva, Football.(International Edition; WOMEN & LEADERSHIP)

Byline: Marta Vieira Da Silva

Now all the girls want to play, and there's always a game

When I was growing up in Dois Riachos, a small town in the poor, backlands of Alagoas, in northeast Brazil, girls didn't have a lot of choices. Most studied to be teachers or to work for the town government. My dream was a little different. I wanted to play professional football. And because I come from a very simple family, I dreamed a little harder.

My family was very poor then and still is today. I help them as much as I can, but women's football doesn't exactly earn you millions. My father separated from my mother when I was around 1. To make ends meet, my mother left the house early for work, as super at the town hall, and came back only at night. I have one sister and two brothers. (An older sister died when I was young.) And we were pretty much on our own. I played ball whenever I could. Sometimes I'd skip classes to play. I was 7, 8 years old, and had no idea what else I might do but play football.

But football was for boys. So I started out in the boy's league. The coach helped, buying me gear and paying my bus fare. My mother had enough money for food and clothes, but not much more. Some of the boys got pissed. "Why do we need a girl on our team? Aren't we man ...