Umeå's Marta voted world's best

Umeå IK striker Marta has been voted FIFA Women's World Player 2006 after helping her club to next April's UEFA Women's Cup final.

'Very thankful'
The 20-year-old Brazilian international was runner-up behind three-time winner Brigit Prinz in the vote of national team coaches and captains in 2005, her third appearance in the top ten, but this time she received 475 points in the voting, 87 ahead of United States captain Kristine Lilly. Marta has scored seven goals in Umeå's 2006/07 European campaign, including two in both legs of their 11-1 aggregate semi-final win against Kolbotn IL, and struck 20 times as her club won the Swedish league by 21 points. She said at the ceremony in Zurich: "I'm very thankful to my family, my club, and my team-mates. And, of course, I owe this award to all the people who helped me to get here. I promise I will work very hard in order to be here many times in the future."

Top ten
Renate Lingor of Germany and UEFA Women’s Cup holders 1. FFC Frankfurt was third while English attacker Kelly Smith, who has helped Arsenal LFC to this season's two-legged final against Umeå, placed fifth. Germany goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg, who joined Frankfurt this summer, was sixth and Sweden duo Malin Moström and Lotta Schelin, of Umeå and Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC respectively, also reached the top ten.