Midfielder Marta was upset after an official translator changed her quotes in a press conference after Brazil’s 2-1 quarter-final victory over Norway.

Marta was asked, in Portuguese, whether she thought she was being targeted by defenders in this year’s Olympic football tournament, and her reply was along the lines that it was natural players were marking her closely.

After the answer was translated into Chinese and then English, her answer came out completely different.

"I don’t think I’m the best forward in the world. I’m just here to do a job for the team," the translator quoted following the match.

Marta, who understands some English, told Brazilian media that she had not said anything like that, according to the Terra Web site.

Marta complained again after another one of her answers was badly translated, and the interpreters eventually stopped the translations. That prompted the international media to become upset, and the press conference was suddenly cut short.

Just like some of her male countrymates, the Brazilian star has shortened her name from Marta Vieira da Silva, to simply Marta.

Marta led Brazil to a gold medal on the team’s home pitch at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro and a runner-up finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup later that year in China. She was the leading scorer at the event, finding the back of the net seven times.

The 22-year-old ace with the Swedish team Umea and reigning FIFA Player of the Year, acknowledged personal accolades are great, but team success is more important.

"Certainly, it would be the most important prize of my career," she told Reuters. "I attach more value to something I have won in a group than an individual award.

"If you lose one year in an individual contest, you can get it back again next year. The Olympics come along every four years and you are representing your country . . . It’s something you can’t explain."