100 of the Most Influential Women in Sport >> Athletes

Lieke Martens, Netherlands

Footballer

Lieke Martens is an excellent reminder of what makes football so endearing – because it’s so damn fun. At the elite level, it’s easy to forget that enjoyment is a primary reason for entering the sport. The intensity of training and exhaustive fixtures schedule can suck out the pleasure, but that’s never been a danger with Martens. She plays the game for pure pleasure and by extension of that, we watch with relish. It won’t surprise you to hear that growing up, the 26-year-old idolised Ronaldinho. The Brazilian is the physical manifestation of happiness, from his big beaming smile to the street-inspired trickery on the pitch. Martens is in that mold. To this day, Martens values the currency of fun and it has paid dividends on the pitch. For the Netherlands, Martens is closing in on a century of caps having plundered 39 times for Oranje. She has already guided her nation to European Championship success on home soil in 2017 where the pacy forward was awarded the Golden Ball. Those performances reinforced Spanish giants Barcelona’s decision to sign her from Swedish side FC Rosengard before the Euros and the Dutchwoman’s game has since risen to new levels. Now a poster girl for Dutch football and a global star, Martens has used her platform to show women are serious players. She does it all with a smile, though, and will be one to watch at this year’s World Cup.

– Her four goals helped guide the Netherlands into this year’s World Cup. They’ve been drawn in Group E alongside Canada, New Zealand and Cameroon.

– The 26-year-old has been learning Spanish since moving to Barcelona and is also studying marketing and football business at the city’s Johan Cruyff Institute.

– Martens capped a fine 2017 by guiding her country to Euro 2017, winning the Golden Ball for best player, the Bronze Boot for third-top scorer and being included in the team of the tournament. She would go on to claim FIFA’s The Best women’s player gong as well.

Did you know…

Martens has somewhat lazily been dubbed the Messi of women’s football but it was actually the Argentine’s former team-mate she admired most. Growing up the Dutchwoman idolised Ronaldinho for his similarly “long hair” and “technical” ability.

“When I was young. I had no idea there were women players or what I could achieve and now we are role models. Of course I wanted to be involved.” – Lieke Martens (Source: The Guardian)

Twitter: @liekemartens1
Instagram: liekemartens