Cristiane Rozeira de Souza Silva (born May 15, 1985 in Osasco, São Paulo), better known as Cristiane, is a Brazilian association football player. She currently plays for Santos of Copa do Brasil on loan from Women's Professional Soccer side Chicago Red Stars.Cristiane started her career with local clubs Sao Bernardo and Clube Atletico Juventus in her hometown of Sao Paulo. At just 15 years of age, she made her debut for Brazil's U-19 side, of which she remained a member for four years. She helped it to fourth-place finishes at the FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup in Canada in 2002 and Thailand in 2004. Wedged in between was the left-footed attacker's first appearance at a major senior-level tournament, the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, held in the United States. She appeared as a substitute in all four of her team's matches.
Partnered with fellow teenager Marta on the Brazilian frontline at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Cristiane took her game to another level. She scored five goals to share the scoring title with Germany's Birgit Prinz. All five of the goals came in two matches, three against Greece and two against Mexico. She almost won the scoring title outright, but her shot, a 77th minute strike in a 1-1 game against United States in the Olympic final, glanced off the outside of the left post. The goal also could have led Brazil to its first-ever Olympic gold medal in soccer. The U.S. won, 2-1, in extra time.
Not long after Marta marched across the Atlantic Ocean to play in Europe, Cristiane did the same. In February 2005, Cristiane transferred from Atletico Juventus to 1.FFC Turbine Potsdam, southwest of Berlin. The fluid forward had difficulties adapting to the more direct, aggressive style of the German game and transferred to a different team in the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg, for the 2006-07 season.
At the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China, Cristiane and Marta once again made life miserable for opposing defenders. The two combined for 12 goals, as Brazil made its second consecutive major final appearance. Cristiane scored five of those goals, including the third of Brazil's four goals in a 4-0 win over USA in the semifinal. She was awarded the Bronze Ball as the third-best player of the tournament. Later, in 2007, she again finished third in the voting for FIFA Player of the Year, behind only Marta and Prinz.
After her team's impressive showing on Chinese soil, Cristiane was instrumental in helping to organize the first Copa do Brasil de Futebol Feminino (Brazilian Women's Soccer Cup) tournament. Several members of ‘The Canaries' have pledged to help develop the women's game domestically. Their goal is to create a self-supporting league for all Brazilian players in the coming years.
