Marta came to the Orlando Pride carrying the weight of expectations to bring the club to new heights.

The five-time FIFA World Player of the Year was expected to contribute in front of goal and improve the quality of her teammates.

While Orlando has struggled to get wins, Marta has not only met expectations — she’s exceeding them.

Marta is already the Pride’s all-time leading scorer with eights goals in 12 games. While her goal-scoring return has already made club history, Marta feels she can provide more quality in front of goal.

"When you come to a new place to do new work, your expectations are to obviously do the best you can and get the best results, the positive results,” Marta said through a translator. “I feel like eight goals in 12 games is good, but it can get better. Definitely better.”

Coach Tom Sermanni has coached some of the best players in the world in his previous coaching stints. He’s seen Marta play from afar, but he values working with her.

“I knew how good she was, but you sometimes don't appreciate how good players are until you start working with them,” Sermanni said. “Since she's been here she's actually surpassed my expectations of her playing ability. She's just a complete player and has a complete understanding of the game as well.”

Marta is getting settled in off the pitch, too. She’s making the effort to learn English to better communicate with teammates and fans. The club opening its arms has made the transition easier.

"It's been great,” she said. “The fact that I have been so well received by my teammates and the club, the organization and everything else. I feel happy here and honestly, it exceeded my expectations.”

Marta’s personality has meshed with the team seamlessly. During warmups, she’ll have a big smile on her face. In the locker room, she’ll crack jokes to keep the team loose.

“She comes in here smile on her face, she's out there in training, enthusiastic,” Sermanni said. “She's just like a 19-year-old coming into her first club as a professional.”

But when it gets down to business, her qualities stand out on the pitch.

During Orlando’s 2-2 draw against Washington, Marta displayed her talents. After Orlando worked the ball into the box, the ball came to Marta. She took one touch to bring the ball down and unleashed a half-volley strike past the diving goalkeeper.

“It's just Marta being Marta, really,” forward Jasmyne Spencer said. “She's incredible. … “That's probably a lightweight goal for her I would say. You never know what she's gonna pull out of her sleeve.”

It’s not only inside the opposition’s box where she contributes, Marta will also track back into Orlando’s own half and do her defensive duties.

“She's always buzzing,” defender Steph Catley said. “A few of us were saying the other day, if someone is running down the wing and she's in our 18-yard box defending, she's the first one that's going to be sprinting towards our box to score. She's just amazing like that and that's why she's been the best in the world for so long.”

Marta hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.

At 31-years-old, she is still in tremendous shape has the passion and energy she displayed since she started her career. She’ll keep playing as long as those traits are present.

“My body supports my game, the way I play, and how to play the game of soccer, the game that I love,”Marta said. “Honestly, I wake up in the morning and I feel good about my body and capabilities. While that is still the case, then I'll still [be] playing soccer. I just want to keep going until I feel it's time.”