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Marta and Zidane combine for a goal in charity match with ridiculous starting XI

Dirty Tackle
Marta and Zidane combine for a goal in charity match with ridiculous starting XI

It isn't often you get to see a five-time FIFA Women's World Player of the Year and three-time FIFA Men's World Player of the Year come together to score a goal, but in Zidane and Ronaldo's 11th annual Match against Poverty, it happened. Marta, who became the first woman to play in an internationally sanctioned men's football match when she played in the 2007 edition of this game, was on the Ronaldo, Zidane and Friends team that included a dizzying collection of names.

Here's the full roster (via Goal.com):

Goalkeepers

Carlo Cudicini (Italy), Antonios Nikopolidis (Greece)

Defenders

Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy), Fernando Hierro, Michel Salgado (Spain), Jamie Carragher (England), Paulo Ferreira, Fernando Couto (Portugal)

Midfielders

Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Christian Kerembeu (France), Luis Figo, Paulo Sousa (Portugal), Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic), Freddie Ljungberg (Sweden), Gaizka Mendieta (Spain), Gennaro Gattuso (Italy), Ronald de Boer (Netherlands), Santiago Solari (Argentina), Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan), Steve McManaman (England)

Attackers

Ronaldo, Marta, Giovane Elber (Brazil), Davor Suker (Croatia), Hakan Sukur (Turkey), Youri Djorkaeff (France), Christian Vieri (Italy), Nuno Gomes (Portugal).

And that's how you get a starting XI as absurd as this to go against a BSC Young Boys and Friends team in Bern, Switzerland:

Though Marta didn't start, once she did enter the match, she made an impact. Young Boys jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but Marta helped her side get back in the game by setting up Zidane for their side's first goal.

Since it was a charity match comprised of aging stars, the pace obviously wasn't blistering and the skills weren't razor sharpe, but Marta and Zidane still showed their eternal class. Marta was easily the speediest player out there, as she later set up Bobo Vieri for a goal and got off a couple of dangerous shots of her own. the Ronaldo, Zidane and Friends team completed the comeback and won 8-6.