Marta Returns to WPS, Signs with Expansion Club in Western New York

January 26 2011 Last updated at 08:59 AM ET

She is, without question, the best women's soccer player in the world -- a five-time FIFA award winner whose stunning skill would impress even Andy Gray and Richard Keys.

Her talents have translated to Women's Professional Soccer, where she led her clubs to first place in each of the league's two seasons while scoring 29 goals.

But she's also been the kiss of death. Worth a reported $500,000 per year, the Brazilian's contract has weighed heavily on clubs struggling to survive in a sport that still hasn't turned the corner. Marta's first team, the Los Angeles Sol, folded one year ago after L.A. Galaxy owner Anschutz Entertainment Group pulled out and a prospective replacement failed to deliver. WPS's marquee franchise was history.

Its marquee player moved north to the Bay Area to join FC Gold Pride, who improved on its last place finish in 2009 and won the league championship last year. Marta scored the final goal in a 4-0 rout of Philadelphia in the final. Two months later, the Pride closed up shop.

Four clubs have gone under in all, and WPS will kick off its third season with just six (or five-and-a-half, we don't know what to make of the ludicrous half-franchise that is magicTalk SC/Washington Freedom), one (or one-and-a-half) fewer than it started with two years ago. With the league hanging on by a couple of threads, which club would be willing to take on the brilliant half-million dollar jinx?

Turns out it's going to be the expansion team in the league's smallest market. The Western New York Flash, launched by the Sahlen's meat packing company (check out the similar logo -- it's good to see the new club upholding the tradition of pointless, indecipherable WPS team names) and scheduled to play in Rochester, have elected to shoulder the Marta burden in the hope that fans might turn out to see the world's best player.

"(Owner Joe Sahlen) recognized Marta's importance to the league and wanted to keep her here," Flash GM Henrik Ambarchian told The Buffalo News. "He decided to assume her contract. We contacted the league office and the FC Gold Pride was willing to transfer her right to the Flash. We did contact her agent and he gave us his word and OK'd the move. He (said he) would contact Marta and give her the good news.

"She is a global name. People around the world know who she is and will follow where she plays. That brings global attention to Western New York."

It certainly is a gamble, and it will be interesting to see if Marta can acclimatize herself to a culture that's far different from that of Brazil and California (she has played professionally in Sweden as well). It'll also be interesting to see whether fans can acclimatize themselves to buying tickets to WPS games. Regular season attendance fell 23% last season.

Thanks to Marta, the Flash will likely win. Whether they can attract fans, and stay in business, will have a tremendous impact on the future of American women's soccer.

Source: http://soccer.fanhouse.com/2011/01/26/marta-returns-to-wps-signs-with-expansion-club-in-western-new-y/

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