Formiga (footballer, born 1978)

Formiga
Formiga in 2016
Personal information
Full name Miraildes Maciel Mota[1]
Date of birth (1978-03-03) 3 March 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Salvador, Bahia, Brazil[2]
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1995 Euroexport
1996 Saad
1997–1998 São Paulo
1999 Portuguesa
2000 São Paulo
2001 Santa Isabel
2002 Santa Cruz
2002 Santos
2003 Independente
2004–2005 Malmö FF Dam
2006–2007 Saad
2006New Jersey Wildcats (loan) 12 (13)
2007Jersey Sky Blue (loan) 6 (1)
2008 Botucatu
2009 FC Gold Pride 16 (0)
2010 Chicago Red Stars 23 (0)
2011 São José
2012 América de Natal
2013–2015 São José 20 (2)
2016 São Francisco do Conde [pt] 6 (2)
2017–2021 Paris Saint-Germain 68 (2)
2022 São Paulo 13 (0)
International career
1995–2021 Brazil 234[4][5][6] (29)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Brazil
FIFA Women's World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 1999 United States Team
Silver medal – second place 2007 China Team
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Team
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Team
South American Women's Football Championship
Gold medal – first place 1995 Brazil Team
Gold medal – first place 1998 Argentina Team
Gold medal – first place 2003 Peru Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Ecuador Team
Gold medal – first place 2014 Ecuador Team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Chile Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2003 Santo Domingo Team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team
Silver medal – second place 2011 Guadalajara Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 November 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 November 2021

Miraildes Maciel Mota (born 3 March 1978), commonly known as Formiga (Portuguese for "ant"), is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a midfielder. She previously played for professional clubs in Sweden, the United States and France. Formiga holds many international records as a member of the Brazil national team, being the only player present in all Olympic Games tournaments of women's football since the first edition at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and a record for appearing at seven different FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments.

Formiga was a member of the Brazil national team for 26 years (the longest in football history)[7] and is the most capped football player in the history of the Brazil national teams (men's or women's), gaining her 234th and final cap in a 6–1 win over India at the 2021 International Women's Football Tournament of Manaus.[8] She is the only football player in history (men's or women's) to play in seven World Cups and seven Olympic Games.[6][5][4]

  1. ^ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament London 2012 – List of Players Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Formiga". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  3. ^ "List of Players – Brazil" (PDF). FIFA. 8 June 2015. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Aos 43 anos, Formiga se aposenta da seleção brasileira". UOL (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Andrade, Henrique; Candal, Ludmila. "Aos 43 anos, Formiga é convocada para últimos jogos pela Seleção Brasileira". CNN Brasil (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Personalidades do mundo do futebol homenageiam Formiga em sua despedida da Seleção Brasileira". CBF (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  7. ^ Summerscales, Robert. "Ildefons Lima Retires After Longest International Career In Men's Soccer History". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  8. ^ Football: India battle hard in 6-1 defeat against Brazil as the legendary Formiga bids farewell Archived 26 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine Scroll.in. Retrieved 26 November 2021.