Many experts call Portuguese Joao Cancelo the best attacking defender. His adaptation in the Premier League has not been easy, but at the moment the Portuguese is actually very good as a ‘false full-back’, often acting as a playmaker for Manchester City when connecting up front.
Cancelo prides himself on being regarded by many as the best attacking defender in the world, but he’s not really bothered by the statistics. Joao’s first year at City was difficult, but he was already good last season and since August he has been simply indispensable to Pep Guardiola and the most used player in the team. In the game against Newcastle United in December, he not only provided another assists, but also scored his first goal of the current league season, adding to it with the now-defunct wedge-sheet.
Although happy to make his mark on the final match record, Joao Cancelo uses the example of compatriot Bernardo Silva to show why he doesn’t pay much attention to statistics.
“People usually look at statistics a lot — goals and assists. I don’t look at all of that. I think my last season was also very good, although obviously my numbers are great this season,” says Joao Cancelo.
“I understand that some people will only look at your stats, but we also have some players whose great play is difficult to describe in numbers. For example, Bernardo Silva is an exceptional player. This season he has a good record in goals and assists, but in the last league his stats were not as good as they are now. Nevertheless, I considered him both then and now as one of the best in the world.”
“If you analyse a player only by numbers, it’s all relative. I don’t pay much attention to statistics. I just focus on the good results of the team and try to contribute to City’s game.
There is no doubt that Cancelo was instrumental in City winning the league last season and confidently topping the Premier League standings now. His clever play between the lines and connections to attacks regularly stumped opponents. In a season that particularly highlights flank defenders such as Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Pep Guardiola has his trump card on the right flank of defence, which he tries to use at all times — Cancelo has only failed to play in one league game due to suspension.
The 27-year-old has moved to City to establish himself on the international stage and Portugal manager Fernando Santos recently praised Joao Cancelo, calling him the best in the world at his position.
“Obviously it’s a cause for pride if someone says you are the best in the world. I work hard every day to be the best — in training and in matches. I’m a complete professional, working on myself 24 hours a day, so for me it’s a reason to be proud. Especially when your national team coach says that.
Just as Guardiola has previously proven that the competent use of the ‘false nine’ results in the team not always needing a striker, Canselo’s influence has earned him the unique label of ‘false full-back’. Guardiola does give Cancelo more freedom in some games and uses him as a playmaker, and Joao himself does very well with his creative duties, while still managing to do the ‘day job’ in defence.
Joao Cancelo is a gifted footballer, but it is at City that he has found a home and a club where his talents are utilised to their maximum potential. There’s a famous quote from the 1989 Manchester derby, when Andy Hinchcliffe set up the score at 5-1 in City’s favour and commentator Clive Tyldesley uttered the phrase, “And you remember, he’s a right-back!” And so it goes for many of Canselo’s matches and all of his goals.
His statistics this season are impressive to say the least. His 862 assists in the Premier League are the best in the division, but Canselo’s attacking contribution to Man City’s game is particularly striking. He has 26 shots on goal — only slightly fewer than the statistics of his compatriots Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes. No-one at City executes more crosses than Cancelo, and his pass accuracy rate, 85.7%, is very high for a player who rarely passes to the near post and almost always tries to sharpen the game.
His 34 successful tackles and 38 interceptions mean that Canselo does not forget his canonical duties as a defender. His long range passing is best judged by his assist in the Manchester derby on Bernardo Silva’s goal, and all of his goals are spectacular. He is also regularly involved in goalscoring combinations in important matches and has been directly involved in goalscoring for Chelsea, Leicester and Manchester United this season.
The best attacking midfielder Joao Cancelo has not only been hailed by his national team coach, but also by former United defender Rio Ferdinand: “He plays like a defender, but he’s not a normal defender. He often appears in the middle of the pitch. When City have the ball for a long time, his position is in the middle of the pitch, almost a playmaker’s position. It’s crazy, but it’s obviously Pep’s idea — he sees the game differently to others.”
Joao has had to overcome personal grief to reach his current status. In 2013 there was a tragic car accident that left Joao and his younger brother Pedro unharmed, but their mother Filomena was killed. At that moment, the 18-year-old wondered if he wanted to play football at all.
His father convinced Joao that he should make the most of his life in honour of his mother, and driven by that ambition, he played for her, which became his guiding force to succeed. All of Canselo’s coaches have remarked on his exceptionally professional attitude to training and his character as a fighter.
Recently, Joao said in an interview on Portuguese television: “I know that my mother is proud of my career. The only thing I miss is her. Today I have everything: a beautiful daughter, a happy family, and she deserves to see me succeed more than anyone, but I know she is definitely proud of me.”
Former City captain Richard Dunne eloquently summed up how important Joao Cancelo is to City at the moment: “In this style of football he is perfect. He’s perfect as a winger in the right-back position. If he finds himself in the winger position, he is a winger, in the centre of the field he is a playmaker and in his native position he is a defender. All in all, an outstanding player.