Evelina Duljan talks Marta, her best position and NWSL

Like it so often does, it comes back to Marta.

When Evelina Duljan talks about what she learned from her first season in the NWSL with the Orlando Pride, she goes to Marta.

"Marta, she's an amazing person," Duljan told the media on Thursday. "She used to play in Sweden, which helped me a lot, because we would speak Swedish. She's also very big on helping others, especially young players. I think she wants to pass that on to others. So, she would just teach me.

The 21-year-old attacker was born and raised in Kristianstad, Sweden. After rising through the Kristianstad DFF academy, she made her debut for her hometown club in 2017, aged 14.

At 19, Duljan moved to Juventus for the 2022-23 season before then signing a one-year deal with the Pride ahead of the 2024 NWSL season. In her single season with Orlando, the club topped the NWSL table and won the playoffs, winning a first-ever domestic double Shield and Championship trophies.

READ MORE: The story of the Orlando Pride's special chain

Duljan left Orlando in December and signed as a free agent with the Houston Dash. Reflecting on the lessons learned from 2024, she speaks mostly about personal growth off the pitch.

"I learned a lot [in Orlando]...I feel like I grew up, more as a person. Orlando has a lot of experience, like a lot of experienced older players. Especially Marta, she taught me how to be more of a person outside the field, that I'm more than just a soccer player. That's something I learned," Duljan said.

Duljan made just eight appearances for the Pride, all off the bench, amassing 179 minutes. However, she did score a goal for the Pride in a Summer Cup match against Racing Louisville.

"I didn't get a lot of playing time [in Orlando]...my agent received some interest from Houston, and I thought it was very interesting. [Head coach] Fabrice [Gautraut] shortly explained his ambitions, and what his goal was. And I really wanted to be part of something new," Duljan said about her move to Texas.

This has been a common thread throughout Duljan's young career. Since 2019, she has struggled for first-team opportunities. She has just seven league starts in her past seven seasons across Sweden, Italy and the United States.

Duljan is pretty candid about not having shown what she is truly capable of. She remains patient and understanding of what it means to earn a spot on the pitch.

"I still don't feel like I have really showed and proved who I am, I just want to contribute. I just want to help the team as much as possible, but I still think I need a little bit more time and a little more minutes," Duljan said.

In Houston, Duljan has come straight into the first-team as a primary attacking option off the bench. She featured in the first three matches of the NWSL season, notching a key pass in the winning goal against Chicago Stars, before an ankle injury halted her progress.

Duljan returned to the fold in last weekend's 2-1 defeat to Racing Louisville and is now keen to kick on. Throughout her career she has been used in multiple wide positions, including forward, winger, wing-back, and full-back. Dash head coach Gautraut has settled on using Duljan more centrally, and she's enjoying it.

"Im open for everything. I've also been an all around player my whole life, but right now, and he's playing me as a 10, that's what I prefer. It's been a while, so I'm happy about that," Duljan said about her position.

Even with the limited minutes Duljan is certain the NWSL is the right league for her at this point in her career, and that she's interested in playing in the U.S. for at least for "a couple more years."

Within just a few months of arriving in Orlando she knew this was the perfect league for her style of game. A player who can light up the pitch in transition, attack space, and conjure up interplay with teammates. The fleet-footed Swede is eager to show off more of her footwork and trickery for the Dash as the season goes on.