The Orlando Pride announced the signing of a game-changing player.
So, how do you coach a five time FIFA Player of the Year?
“She’s not the type of player that you’re really going to coach,” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “She knows the game, she knows how to play, it’s really a question of us making the very best use of her as we possibly can.”
The whole process, Sermanni said, has been thrilling and shows the organization’s commitment to being the best team in the NWSL.
“It’s very, very exciting,” Sermanni said. “You don’t often get a player of this caliber to coach and come into your team. It’s fantastic for me as a coach, it’s fantastic for the players, and it’s fantastic for the club.”
“It says that we are very serious about this league, and we’re very serious about being successful,” Sermanni said. “And, you know, you bring a player of that caliber and it gives everybody a boost. Our players will be absolutely over-the-moon with this, and just the whole town will react very positively to this.”
Sermanni tried to put into words everything that Marta brings to the Pride, but it was difficult.
“She just changes games,” Sermanni said. “She’s dynamic, she scores goals, she can dribble, she can pass, she understands the game, and she’s passionate about the game. So she’s got all the skills of a top-level player.”
In the end, Sermanni says that Marta won’t just be a valuable player on the field due to her own skills. She will elevate the entire team, pushing everyone to be their best.
“I think just being here-- when you sign a player of that caliber, just her coming into the training environment elevates the team,” Sermanni said. “For somebody like Marta to come in, for all of our players, that’s an enormous incentive for them to just take their game to another level.”
Bringing Marta onto the team shows the team’s commitment not to just winning this season, but to developing their talent into the future. As Sermanni said: it is a statement of intent.
“Our club is very ambitious,” Sermanni said. “And I think it’s a great statement of intent, of how we intend to be as a club.”
