Marta and the Mermaids? Sol forward eyes fourth world player of the year award

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Marta, the Brazilian striker who led the Los Angeles Sol to the Women’s Professional Soccer championship match while finishing as top goal scorer and most valuable player in the league’s inaugural season, is among 10 players nominated for FIFA’s women’s world player of the year award.

The 23-year-old forward followed her WPS season by leading the Vila Belimor Mermaids of Santos, Brazil, to the championship of the first Women’s Copa Libertadores in South America. According to FIFA.com, Marta and the Mermaids scored 43 goals en route to the continental title and defeated Universidad Autonoma of Paraguay, 9-0, in the final.

The 10 women nominated are:

Nadine Angerer (Germany), Sonia Bompastor (France), Cristiane (Brazil), Inka Grings (Germany), Mana Iwabuchi (Japan), Simone Laudehr (Germany), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany), Kelly Smith (England) and Abby Wambach (United States).

Marta has won the FIFA award in each of the last three seasons, so the question becomes, should she win it again or is it time to share the wealth?

-- Grahame L. Jones