Arriving on Thursday night, Brazilian soccer star Marta wasted no time meeting with fans and members of the press the following morning.

The Orlando Pride kicks off its season at home when it welcomes the Washington Spirit to Orlando City Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m. which will broadcast on Lifetime.

Marta told reporters during a press conference on Friday one of several reasons why she decided to play in Orlando was because of the club’s winning mentality.

“Since the first moment Orlando took the initiative to build a women’s soccer team, they have shown the same ambition as they do for the men’s team,” said Marta. “Since the first moment I arrived I could feel the energy and the love they are demonstrating for the sport, and with no doubt that is not only interesting, but also is very important for the any athlete that wants to always show their best.”

The five-time FIFA World Player of the Year also alluded to the team’s stance toward equality played a part. 

The club’s winning mentality runs parallel with Marta.

“My mentality is to always to be my best, in and out of the field. I want to help my team conquer everything,” she said. “When we’re talking about such a competitive league like the U.S is, with all the great athletes we have, we want to go as far as possible and win every title. It’s not going to be easy, since they’re a lot of quality and competitive teams, but if we do our jobs in the best way possible, I think we have a great chance at achieving big things.”

Marta didn’t meet with the team and head coach Tom Sermanni until after Friday’s press conference. 

As for Saturday’s home-opener, Sermanni is hopeful she will be ready to get some minutes, but mentioned how a conversation between them will occur in order to make the best decision for both parties.

(Photo by New Day Review / Victor Tan)