Tactics Talk with Jelena Čanković
The Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder and Serbia international talks learning from different leagues, playing for Barcelona, success at Chelsea, and adapting to different midfield roles...
Jelena Čanković has enjoyed success almost everywhere she’s been. Whether it be her homeland Serbia, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, or now in England, where the 29-year-old joined Brighton & Hove Albion at the start of the season.
Between her various clubs, Čanković has 12 league titles to her name, 11 of them in the top divisions of the respective countries, having previously played for the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and FC Rosengård, as well as approaching her 50th cap for Serbia.
Yet Čanković had often gone under the radar until the Women’s Super League champions offered the then Sweden-based star a three-year deal in 2022.
A midfielder who can do a bit of everything, Čanković discusses her role on the field, adapting to different midfield positions, coaching, her year in Spain, Chelsea, as well as some of her biggest games, in the latest edition of Tactics Talk…
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“I can play higher or lower, but I like to be and consider myself to be quite an offensive-minded player,” says Čanković, coming to the end of her first season on the south coast since joining Brighton last summer.
“It’s what I like to play, as an eight or a ten. Depending on the formation, I also get to play a little bit faster if we’re attacking, or a bit slower if we’re not, so even in the same role it can be quite different.
“You wouldn’t maybe think it’s that different, it’s still central, but you’re constantly adjusting. I’ve played more and more as a six, which is a big difference for me, but it’s a good thing for me personally because in modern football you need to be versatile enough to play various roles and that’s where I am at right now.”
Čanković has played all three key midfield roles during her time at various clubs, as well as with her country, and admits it “takes a lot” to adapt over time, even though it’s still the same area of the pitch, but a very different role within that area of space.
“We all have our position, and we all know the theory behind it. If you are a number 10 you are often pressing. If you are an eight you are maybe thinking about the second balls, dropping on loose balls in midfield, the defending also changes depending on how high or low you are on the pitch. If you are a six, there’s a lot of thinking, you have to think about other things, how much space you take, where your teammates are, making sure there is the right balance.
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