The Orlando Pride‘s busy offseason continued on Thursday with the announcement that the club has completed the signing of Brazilian national team forward Adriana Leal da Silva, aka Adriana, via transfer from Corinthians in Brazil. She joins the club on a three-year contract, with allocation money used in both the signing and transfer.

The 26-year-old leaves behind a decorated legacy in Brazil, netting 72 goals (the second-most in Corinthians history) in 143 appearances (120 starts), and helping led the club to 10 total trophies (four league championships; a Copa Libertadores in 2021; three Paulista Championships; as well as both the Brazilian Super Cup and Paulista Cup in 2022).

In 2018, after scoring 26 goals in 37 games and leading her side to the league championship, she was named Player of the Year by the Brazilian Football Confederation.

For the national team, Adriana made her debut with the First Team in 2017, scoring her first goal five days later. In all, she’s scored for the Brazilian national team and could potentially make her first appearance for the team at the Women’s World Cup in Australia later this summer.

What they’re saying

“Adriana is an exciting, dynamic and entertaining player with an eye for the goal. She possesses great technical ability and an incredible work rate, and we’re extremely happy to have her as part of the Pride,” Pride manager Seb Hines said. “She’s a player that thrives in one-on-one situations and one that will bring new attacking power to our front line. Adriana is already a winner for club and country but still has an ambition to take her career to the next level, and we’re happy to have her do so here in Orlando.”

“I am very happy to have signed with Orlando Pride, a special club. I am happy and excited to arrive there quickly and be able to do my best on the field to help Orlando win titles,” Adriana said. “It’s a big challenge ahead and we athletes are motivated by challenges. I’m ready to face all of them with all our strength as a team and fight tooth-and-nail. I hope it’s a very successful season for myself and for Orlando. Again, I am very happy to be part of this great club.”

Our thoughts on the signing (via OSJ Orlando Pride Contributor Luis Hernandez)

The right-footed Brazilian should slot immediately into the attack and boost an offense that was rather anemic last season. Adriana tends to play out wide as a winger, like she lined up at her former club, and has the familiarity with Marta to be able to combine with her compatriot and create more scoring chances. She is also able to create chances from distance to threaten the opponent’s goal. With it being a World Cup year, there is high potential for both Brazilians to miss some time with Orlando for national team commitments. Adriana missed out on the last World Cup due to injury, but a good showing in Orlando could see her on the roster for the tournament. With the Pride using some of their abundant allocation money to sign Adriana to a three-year deal, they have shown their commitment not only to continue to improve the roster, but to Adriana herself, keeping her locked in purple for the foreseeable future.

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