Arsenal’s Rafaelle Souza: ‘Players from Bahia have a special spice’

“Baiana, at the service of the Brazilian WNT and Arsenal.” This is Rafaelle Souza’s bio on Instagram. The first word means that she was born in the state of Bahia, in the northeast of Brazil. “I will always be baiana in the first place. Anything else comes after that,” she tells the Guardian. As a proud baiana, she is only too happy to talk about the talent that has come from the state; birthplace to stars such as Bebeto, Dida, Dani Alves, Formiga and Sissi. “I think players from Bahia have a special spice.”

The state’s size is equivalent to France. Rafaelle was born 30 years ago in a small town called Cipó, with a population of 17,000. “There was not much to do there, so all I had was to play football with the boys,” she says, recalling the days when she used to run around barefoot until late hours, just for fun. “That is one of the reasons I love football so much. My parents, even with all the prejudice from our neighbours, always supported me and let me play.”

Years later, when Rafaelle was 15, she began to play professionally for São Francisco do Conde, a small football team in Salvador, the capital of the state. That was when she first thought football could be her profession. She thrived despite the club having little in the way of resources and the fact that she had to get used to wearing boots for the first time.

She compares her life story to other players from the northeast region, such as Marta, born in the neighbouring state Alagoas. “We were never handed things out easily. It was always harder for us,” she says. Brazil is an unequal country, and even now, the women’s game is developing faster than ever in the southeast while still struggling in northern regions. “We have so much talent that we send many