CBF pays tribute to the women's team, silver medalist at the Paris Olympics

With the medals won at the Paris Olympics, the Brazilian team athletes were honored this Monday (12 ) at the CBF headquarters, in Rio, by president Ednaldo Rodrigues, directors and employees of the entity. Applauded standing up in the CBF auditorium, they took to the stage, wearing the team's uniform, for a symbolic celebration.

Called one by one by the Competitions manager, Aline Pellegrino, who was part of the winning generation of the beginning of the 2000s, the medalists heard from President Ednaldo Rodrigues thanks for reaching an Olympic final after 16 years.

“This is a tribute from Brazilian football to these warriors who fought so hard for the medal and have moved us in the last few days on this Olympic journey in France. This was a golden job. It was a very difficult trajectory, which had great harmony and rapport in each of the girls and the coaching staff, which built this path to the podium”, said Ednaldo Rodrigues.

“We are extending our Thanks also to all the directors of CBF, to the members of the arbitration committee, to the collaborators, to all those who make Brazilian football happen. I also want to congratulate the pioneers of all this, the trailblazers, represented here by several of them. They paved the way for us to have a consistent national team today, which always seeks results and does not allow itself to be overwhelmed by diversity”, continued the CBF president, referring to the former national team players invited to attend the event.

In his speech, Ednaldo Rodrigues also made a point of mentioning Antonia by name, one of the symbols of achievement at the Paris Olympics. The player played for several minutes against Spain in the first phase with a broken leg, which she would only find out about the following day.

When she played in sacrifice, standing in the middle of the field in the match played in Bordeaux, she prevented an opposing defender from advancing to try for more goals – Brazil, who played with one less in that match, due to Marta's expulsion in the first half, were outclassed on the scoreboard and could not concede another goal, otherwise, would be eliminated.

“There were many difficulties, game after game, a lot of traveling, the limited number of athletes that could be listed, the casualties without being able to make replacements, and you gave everything for this historic moment. They looked up to Antonia in that game. She was very important there, with her presence, a relevant fact for the classification, as we could not concede goals for the classification. Know that for everything you did, you will always be in the hearts of Brazilian fans”, said Ednaldo Rodrigues.

< p>