Blood, sweat and tears weren\u2019t enough. Cristiane gave it everything to make Brazil\u2019s squad for Australia & New Zealand 2023. When, despite getting herself into what she believes was the best shape and best form of her otherworldly career, the striker accepted her FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup\u2122 dream was over. And it was until today.<\/p>\n
This morning Brazil was declared host nation for the next edition of the tournament. Suddenly, Cristiane is fantasising over being \u201cthe new Formiga\u201d.<\/p>\n
That may be a casual contemplation, but being at the upcoming Olympics is an obsession. \u2018Mummy Cris\u2019 \u2013 her son Bento is three \u2013 made a triumphant return to the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o at the recent SheBelieves Cup and is now going all out to make the plane to Paris 2024.<\/p>\n
Cristiane, who turned 39 this week, chats to FIFA about that mission, her belief Brazil can win gold, learning from Spain, her nation staging the global finals in 2027 and whether she would retire with regrets if she doesn\u2019t conquer a major crown at international level.<\/p>\n
How does it feel that Brazil will host the next FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup in 2027\u2026
\nCristiane: It’s grandiose. Me and other players, we didn\u2019t imagine this happening, a World Cup coming to Brazil. It will be absolutely magical. We have to enjoy this to the maximum. It\u2019s amazing for Brazilian women\u2019s football. It\u2019s amazing for women\u2019s football because we know that Brazil will put on a show. It\u2019s a great opportunity for a lot of supporters \u2013 women, men, children \u2013 to see other national teams. To be able to see stars from other countries up close will be magical. The passion Brazilians have for football is crazy. They\u2019re really, really passionate. I think it will be huge for women\u2019s football.<\/p>\n
Do you think we\u2019ll see the best World Cup ever?
\nI think Brazil has everything to make this a magical World Cup. I think we can make it an unforgettable World Cup for everyone \u2013 the supporters, the players. Brazilians are welcoming to everyone who visits our country. I hope everyone will go home thinking, \u2018Wow, it was amazing to experience the World Cup in Brazil\u2019.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve said you planned on being retired by 2027, but has this changed your mind?
\nWho knows? (laughs) If I take care of myself maybe I can be the new Formiga! (laughs) Opportunities in football depend a lot on how you look after your body. I\u2019ve looked after myself because of this. To be honest, I hadn\u2019t thought about still being a player in 2027, but a World Cup in Brazil has given me a new idea! It would be the coolest thing, but Brazil has a really strong generation of players coming through. Let\u2019s see. A lot of things can happen between now and then.<\/p>\n
How painful was it to miss the last World Cup?
\nIt was very hurtful. I was left out for the last Olympics and the World Cup, and it hurt a lot. I\u2019d prepared myself really well, on a lot of fronts, for both competitions. I knew not getting picked it wasn\u2019t down to something professional \u2013 it was more something personal. To this day I don\u2019t know what. It was even more hurtful because it happened that way.<\/p>\n
Speaking of the present, you\u2019ve scored 10 goals in your last seven games for Flamengo. Having just turned 39, you must be delighted with your form?
\nI\u2019m really happy with the start to the year at my new club. In a really short space of time \u2013 five months \u2013 I\u2019ve managed to adapt to the team. I\u2019m really pleased with my stats and, principally, to have returned to the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o and played two good games. It\u2019s a really important time for me.<\/p>\n
After a long time away, how did it feel to wear the Brazil shirt again?
\nI\u2019ve always felt great pleasure representing the Brazilian national team. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve felt since my first call-up, first opportunity. Every time I get the chance, I always try to give my all for the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o. I managed to play both games, and started against Japan. It was wonderful, massive for me. I also managed to score, help the team. Helping the team is always what motivates me.<\/p>\n
Spain, Japan and Nigeria\u2026 what did you think of Brazil\u2019s group at the Olympics?
\nI think it\u2019s an extremely difficult group. But I think it\u2019s an extremely difficult group for all the other teams. I think all four teams are thinking of it as a group of death. It\u2019s good because it will be an extremely competitive group with great national teams. To have the chance to play against Spain, the reigning world champions, will be a big pleasure for us. Every team will be really up for playing against them. I think it will be a really interesting group in these Olympics. I think Brazil are being really well prepared to go far in this tournament.<\/p>\n
What do you think of this Spain side?
\nI really like the way they play football. It\u2019s really technical football, they have a lot of possession, the players play really close to one another. It\u2019s rare to see them getting the ball, getting it forward, everyone running after it. They enjoy having the ball at their feet the whole time. Since he took charge of the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o, Arthur has been working on getting us to play this way. Brazil were always about playing technical football, dribbling, not hitting it long. Arthur\u2019s getting us back to playing that way. I believe this style suits us.<\/p>\n
Arthur called 26 players up for the forthcoming friendlies against Jamaica. Only 18 players will make the Olympic squad. Are you fretting over making the squad?
\nI think absolutely everyone is really anxious. It\u2019s such a small list. Everyone\u2019s really nervous about digging a place for themself. Everyone who\u2019s been called up is an excellent player. Every player deserves to be in the 18. Unfortunately not everyone can be at the Olympics. It comes down to what every player offers on a day-to-day basis and during tournaments, and it\u2019s down to the coaching staff to evaluate it. We\u2019re all anxious over the announcement.<\/p>\n
You mentioned Brazil want to go far at the Olympics. Are you confident you can finally win a major title?
\nWithout doubt. Arthur gets this through to us: there\u2019s no point going to a competition to compete; you have to go to win. I don\u2019t believe in going to an Olympics or a World Cup and saying, \u2018Let\u2019s get through the group and then see what we can do\u2019. No, you have to go and fight for the title. When you\u2019re in the Brazilian national team, you have to think like this. It\u2019s not arrogance. The other successful teams think like this. We want to be back on the podium \u2013 it\u2019s been a long time since we were on it \u2013 and we want gold medals.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve had an extraordinary career. Do you think if you retired having never won an Olympics or a World Cup, you\u2019d always live with regrets?
\nI don\u2019t think so. I think, within the story of Brazilian football, when you look at what we had before and what we have now, I can be really happy with what we\u2019ve managed to build. I think we managed to achieve a lot from scratch. This is huge. I believe it\u2019s worth more than a title I\u2019m missing. Of course I\u2019d love to retire having been a world champion, with an Olympic gold medal. I have immense pride that I have two Olympic silver medals. I feel extremely proud seeing them in my house. It would be monumental to win a gold but if I don\u2019t, I have no doubt whatsoever that I\u2019ll retire really satisfied with everything I achieved for the national team, the clubs I played for and globally. I won\u2019t be frustrated at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Blood, sweat and tears weren\u2019t enough. Cristiane gave it everything to make Brazil\u2019s squad for Australia & New Zealand 2023. When, despite getting herself into what she believes was the best shape and best form of her otherworldly career, the striker accepted her FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup\u2122 dream was over. And it was until today. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":979153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27192],"class_list":["post-979152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=979152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/979153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=979152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=979152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=979152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}