Ana Jelenčić (born 8 June 1994) is a Croatian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for Servette Chênois and the Croatia women's national team.

Club career

Jelenčić joined a women's football team as a complete beginner when she was 13 years old. As a young player she spent a short, unhappy spell at

BV Cloppenburg BV Cloppenburg is a German association football club located in Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony. History The club was founded after World War I in 1919 as the successor to SV Cloppenburg 1911. Through the 1950s they played in the Amateurliga Nieder ...

of the 2. Frauen-Bundesliga, then moved to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on the recommendation of her Croatian team-mate Leonarda Balog. In 26 Ekstraliga Kobiet appearances for

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by lo ...

, Jelenčić scored one goal and received eight yellow cards. She then moved to Lithuanian

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...

contestants Gintra-Universitetas, before returning to Polish football with AZS PWSZ Wałbrzych in February 2017. Although she was successful in Poland, Jelenčić transferred to Norwegian

Toppserien The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984. History Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in ...

club

Avaldsnes IL Avaldsnes Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from Avaldsnes, Karmøy, Rogaland. It was founded on 16 June 1937. The club has sections for football and handball. Women's football The women's team began play in 1989, winning the 1st Division o ...

in 2019 because she wanted to test herself at a higher level and earn better wages. She was soon unhappy with the shortage of first-team football, so moved to Sporting Huelva. Her appearances were curtailed by the

COVID-19 pandemic in Spain The COVID-19 pandemic in Spain has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Spain on 31 January 2020, when a German tourist tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in La Gomera, Canary Island ...

. Jelenčić made her league debut for Parma against

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

on 28 August 2022. On 16 July 2020, Jelenčić was announced at Hellas Verona on a contract until 30 June 2021. On 24 July 2021, she signed a contract extension until 30 June 2022. On 17 July 2023, Jelenčić was announced at Servette on a contract until 2025. She made her league debut against

Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

on 26 August 2023. Jelenčić scored her first league goal against

Thun Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...

on 14 September 2024, scoring in the 86th minute.

International career

Jelenčić has been capped for the Croatia national team, appearing for the team during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying cycle. Jelenčić progressed through the national youth teams where she had enjoyed working with the

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

Dean Klafurić. She made her senior national team debut in May 2011, as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Jelenčić scored her first international goal against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

on 30 November 2021, scoring in the 76th minute. Jelenčić was part of the team that was called up for the

2020 Cyprus Women's Cup The 2020 Cyprus Women's Cup was the 13th edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. It took place from 5 to 11 March 2020. Croatia won the tournament for the first time. Venues Team ...

. Jelenčić was part of the team that was called up for the

2023 Cyprus Women's Cup The 2023 Cyprus Women's Cup was the 14th edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an international women's football tournament. It was held in Cyprus from 16 to 22 February 2023. Finland won the title for the first time. Format The four invited teams ...

Career statistics

International

Honours

Górnik Łęczna * Ekstraliga: 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

: 2017–18

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jelencic, Ana 1994 births Living people Croatian women's footballers 21st-century Croatian sportswomen Croatia women's international footballers Women's association football defenders ŽNK Dinamo-Maksimir players ŽNK Agram players ŽNK Osijek players BV Cloppenburg (women) players Gintra Universitetas players Górnik Łęczna (women) players Avaldsnes IL players Sporting de Huelva players SSD Women Hellas Verona players Parma Calcio 2022 players Servette FC Chênois Féminin players 2. Frauen-Bundesliga players Ekstraliga (women's football) players Toppserien players Serie A (women's football) players Liga F players Women's Super League (Switzerland) players Croatian expatriate women's footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate women's footballers in Poland Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate women's footballers in Lithuania Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Lithuania Expatriate women's footballers in Norway Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate women's footballers in Italy Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate women's footballers in Spain Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate women's footballers in Switzerland Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland