Evelin Bonifácio

Evelin actually disliked football at first and would cry when her brothers took her to the pitch because she preferred playing in the street. Her older brother Eric eventually won her over by kicking a ball around with her in their backyard.

Her route into organised football went through futsal.

Football really does run in the family. Her younger sister Emily is an attacking midfielder who also plays in Santos' youth system.

Long before joining Santos, Evelin spent countless hours practising football in the street and remembers already recognising that she had a special talent for the game.

Futsal earned Evelin a full scholarship at her school, giving her an educational opportunity as well as opening the door to her football career.

Evelin was such a prolific school futsal scorer that she broke a tournament goalscoring record previously held by fellow Santos academy graduate Gi Fernandes.