Marianyela Jimenez started her journey in soccer at just eight years old in her native Venezuela. Like many female players that came before her, Jimenez played with an all-boys team seeing as the academy, Academia Puerto Cabello Te Quiero, did not have a girl’s team. This was where a young Marianyela learned about respect and confidence, “I learned a lot about respect. The boys respected me a lot. I was the only girl so that helped me a lot with my confidence as well.” This respect she found among
the boys led her to being named captain of the team. All the hard work that Marianyela put in as a young child, which led her to wear the captain armband of a boy’s team, was just the start for a young girl who had a dream to play professional soccer.
The first part of her dream came true when she was a young adult and college soccer came knocking at her door, literally. Okay, not literally but they did reach out to the young player first. William Carey University wanted her for their team and through the help of the Deyna Foundation Marianyela found herself heading to Mississippi to play in the NCAA, a dream she also had since she was little, “my whole life I always dreamed of going abroad.” It was at this moment that she realized that dreams do come true. While it was a happy moment for the Venezuelan, it was also a challenging time as she had to adjust to a whole new environment which included college studies, something she admitted she wasn’t the best at, “I was never good at [studying] but it was my dream so I knew I had to do it.” Marianyela also shared how learning a new language and culture was difficult at first, “adapting to a new country, a new culture, new people….at the beginning was hard for me because I didn’t speak English,” but at the end of the day she was certain she made the right choice for herself, “it was one of the best decisions I made in my life.”
About three years after arriving at William Carey, life changed once again for Marianyela. While she was away competing with the Venezuelan U20s National Team, which she had been playing with since she was a teenager, Florida State University came calling. FSU communicated with her agent their desire to have the Venezuelan play for them that upcoming season. The player knew transferring was the right decision as it’s important to get out of one’s comfort zone and playing in a Division I school would do just that, “it was a game changer.” While Marianyela was happy with her decision, she couldn’t help but feel blessed for her time at William Carey, “…..my experience there was awesome. I learned so much. That was the beginning of my career in the United States so I’m grateful for it.” So onto Division I soccer she went where she helped the Seminoles win the 2025 National Title for a fifth time. “I started crying. This is what I wanted the whole five years I’ve been in the United States. It’s like I did it–WE did it!” the Venezuelan shared. Her career in the NCAA with William Carey and FSU were in part thanks to the Deyna Foundation. Fellow Venezuelan Deyna Castellanos, who also attended Florida State University, created a foundation to “empower young girls and women student-athletes to further their education and sports opportunities.” Just like the opportunities before, Marianyela was reached out to by the foundation who were, “very attentive with me. I’m grateful.” Deyna and her foundation have helped so many young women achieve their dreams and Marianyela was just one of many, “Deyna is helping little girl’s, she’s helped me. She’s helping little girls getting to know their dreams and achieve them.”
After winning a national title with FSU it was time for the next step in her career: it was time to go pro. While Marianyela was in college she always had a dream to become a professional footballer but she didn’t know where she would end up. Thankfully for her a team from her past called her again. Two years prior when she got the offer to head to Florida State, she also received a call from Mexico. Querétaro Femenil had heard about the player and wanted her to sign with them. She found herself with three big choices in front of her: continue at William Carey, transfer to FSU or go pro and play in Liga MX Femenil. Ultimately Marianyela chose to transfer to play with the Seminoles but the Gallos didn’t just disappear. They kept the Venezuelan on their radar and when she wrapped up her final year of college with a trophy, they called her again and this time she was ready. While the league had been around for years, Marianyela hadn’t heard about the league until she got a call to play in Mexico. “No, I didn’t know,” the player had revealed when asked if she was familiar with the league. The unfamiliarity of a new league did not stop her from taking the opportunity she always dreamed about and this time adapting was a lot easier. “Oh my gosh I love Mexico! I think Mexico has become my home. I love the people, the food,” the Venezuelan gushed. With how quick she adapted to living and playing in Mexico it was no surprise that in her first season she was chosen to wear the captain armband twice. “I came to the team and felt like I’ve been on the team for years. So I feel they felt it too and I feel like the coach liked my attitude. So I think I gained it through games, training and showing up and helping.” Wearing the captain armband can feel heavy on some players because it comes with pressure, but for Marianyela it has been the opposite. She even feels that pressure is a good thing, “I think pressure is a privilege for players. For me pressure is more like power.”
Marianyela has been playing soccer since she was a young child, it’s all she’s ever known. While she doesn’t want to picture a life without soccer, she had a pretty good idea of what she would do if she lived in a parallel universe in which she wasn’t playing soccer. “Honestly, I love cooking so I would like to learn more. I would think I would want to be a chef even though I don’t know how to cook that much,” the player shared in-between laughs. She may have a short list of items she knows how to cook but rest assured that this Venezuelan knows how to cook Arepas, a traditional food from her native country. Thankfully Marianyela will not have to worry about becoming a chef because she gets to live out her dream, a dream she had since she was a child and she is beyond happy to be able to do that, “this little girl is happy that my life is becoming what she always dreamed of.”
