“You’re so Galo”: Pimenta’s journey with the Vingadoras | OneFootball

“You’ve got Galo written all over you”. The phrase stayed with Pimenta even before she arrived at Atlético. At the time, the forward still had no idea that months later she would become the Vingadoras’ top scorer of the season, one of the leading scorers in the Brazilian Women’s Championship, and a symbol of the competitiveness that defines Atlético’s women’s team.

But that sense of belonging did not happen by chance.

Born in Sanclerlândia, in the countryside of Goiás, Pimenta built her journey surrounded by values that still guide her today: hard work, persistence, gratitude, and a constant will to win. Traits that began to take shape in childhood, when she trained and played football alongside older boys.

If her family helped shape the woman Pimenta became, football shaped the competitor. The Vingadoras’ top scorer in 2026, the forward has turned her composure in front of goal into one of her trademarks. In a sport where pressure often weighs heavily, especially in penalty kicks and decisive moments, she prefers to keep things simple.

That mindset helps explain why the forward has become one of the team’s main attacking references this season. With eight goals in 13 matches, Pimenta combines calmness in decisive moments with the ability to take responsibility on the pitch.

One curious detail about her story is that she has a twin brother, João Cleber. The two have followed different paths over the years. While she turned football into a profession, he dreams of becoming a lawyer.

It was precisely the support of those closest to her that became crucial when her career demanded one of the young forward’s greatest challenges: leaving home to pursue the dream of making a living from football.

It was at that moment that two people played a decisive role in keeping her firm on the path she had chosen to follow: her mother, Kele, and her godfather, Reginaldo.

From her mother’s hands to a striker’s goals

A manicurist, Kele worked twice as hard to help her daughter keep chasing the dream of becoming a professional player. Reginaldo, meanwhile, organized friendlies, took his goddaughter to competitions in Goiânia, and encouraged the young athlete to believe in her own talent.

Her bond with her family remains one of the forward’s greatest motivations.

The roots of Sanclerlândia also remain alive in her childhood memories. Her grandparents, Divino and Maria, hold a special place in her story. Before matches, a call from her grandmother became a tradition.

From midfielder to forward

Her love for football began early, but becoming a forward only came years later. For much of her development, Pimenta played in midfield. It was at Flamengo that she accepted a new challenge and discovered the goalscoring instinct that still follows her today.

“When I got to Flamengo, I was a midfielder and they said they needed a forward. Even on the recommendation of Diovanna, our full-back, who played with me there, I decided to take a chance. That’s where my story of scoring goals began.”

The change paid off. At the Rio club, she won the Copinha, became Brazilian U-20 champion, and finished as the top scorer of the national competition in that category. She also had the opportunity to share the environment with great names in women’s football, such as Cristiane.

Her role models, however, go back much further.

Arrival at Galo

At Atlético, she found an environment where she felt she could live a new chapter in her career. The invitation to wear the black-and-white shirt also came through coach Fabi Guedes, a professional she makes a point of highlighting.

The decision to accept the challenge came with a special feeling.

Months later, that connection seems clearer than ever. The Vingadoras’ top scorer this season, with eight goals in 13 matches, Pimenta has turned into numbers what she has always carried as a trait: the will to win. Decisive in important matches, composed in front of goal, and increasingly identified with the black-and-white shirt, the forward is enjoying one of the best moments of her career.

And among so many celebrations in 2026, one remains especially dear to her. In the match against São Paulo, Pimenta beat two markers before finishing beautifully into the corner. The move, which combined technique, confidence, and decisiveness, was chosen by the forward as her most beautiful goal of the season so far.

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The dreams remain big

The Brazilian National Team remains one of the main goals of her career, and she has already had her first taste of that experience while representing the country at the U-20 level. Off the pitch, she is also looking ahead: she plans to study Physical Education and open her own gym. It is a place she frequents with the same dedication she shows when looking for the back of the net — a place where, like any good striker, she already feels at home.

But regardless of the next chapters, there is one characteristic that has followed her journey, from the fields of Sanclerlândia to Cidade do Galo: the will to win.

It is no coincidence that when she hears one of the best-known lines of the black-and-white anthem — “Win, win, win. This is our ideal” — the forward does not hesitate to identify with it.

And perhaps that is exactly why that phrase she heard before arriving at the Club makes even more sense today.

Pimenta really does have Galo written all over her!

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.