England’s lower leagues are increasingly proving a fertile ground for talented Portuguese players looking to further their careers abroad. Sheffield Wednesday fan Tavish brings us the story of a season to remember for José Semedo.

It’s been an interesting season in England’s League 1 with two massive (for the third tier) Sheffield clubs going head to head with rivals from highly fancied Huddersfield, Charlton and the upwardly mobile MK Dons and Stevenage. Charlton Athletic built an entirely new team after a disappointing 2010/11 season and great credit must be given to their folk-hero boss, Chris Powell, as they dominated the division from start to finish.

With only one further automatic promotion spot on offer, it was nip and tuck between the Owls of Wednesday and the Blades of Sheffield United right up until the final Saturday when the team in the Porto stripes, captained by Portuguese hero José Semedo, managed to beat Wycombe in front of 38,000 delirious home fans. Cue pitch invasion and some serious partying.

For most of the season, Wednesday were managed by Gary Megson - a man who demands belief, strength, power, fitness and organisation from his players. He is also Sheffield-born and a serious Wednesday fan. Almost entirely limited to loan signings and free transfers, Megson pulled off a pre-season masterstroke when he stole José Semedo away from Charlton.
 

Semedo was Charlton’s reigning player of the year – an accolade he was to achieve with the Owls 12 months later – but he did not fit into Powell’s new plans and was allowed to leave on a free. For Sheffield Wednesday fans, the transfer was history in the making – as an ever-present Semedo ran the Owls’ midfield and continued his brilliant form after Megson was sacked and replaced by Dave Jones for the last few games of the season.

Semedo, now 26, started his career on Sporting Clube de Portugal’s famous youth production line but made his professional debut with Lisbon side Casa Pia. In 2005/06, he was loaned to Feirense, and played in the Portuguese second division. Semedo then went to seek his fortune in Italy, being loaned to Cagliari and making three Serie A appearances before being sent off in his last game. In 2007, Semedo signed a four-year deal with Charlton Athletic and began to settle into a defensive midfield role, seeing out his contract before Powell released him.

Wednesday fans did not know what to expect from the Portuguese, but what they got was a League 1 Makelele and Semedo became a fans’ favourite almost as soon as the season began. His uncompromising approach and unerring ability to pass to his own teammates were taken-for-granted qualities that Owls fans had got used to doing without. Patrolling the centre circle, Semedo protected the back four, broke up opposition attacks and played short passes to set up the Owls forward play.
 

Semedo’s own song (He’s Magic, you know – you’ll never get past Semedo) began to ring out and José’s place in Sheffield hearts was assured. His passionate and error free performances continued throughout the season culminating, in May, in the club’s promotion and his player-of-the-season award.

Speaking after the final day victory over Wycombe, Semedo, in his fluent English, said “this is the best thing that ever happened in my career. It’s the best group I ever had in my career. It was the biggest occasion for almost every one of us … a game where we must win to win something. At the end of the day we just did what everyone expected us to do.”


After receiving his player-of-the-year award, Semedo, who has two years remaining on his Hillsborough contract, made it clear that his time with the Sheffield club is not over, saying “I still say to myself that I’ve made the right decision joining because if I didn’t come here I would never know how big this club is or what it means to play for this club.

“To see Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship is the beginning of a good run for the club. It’s the beginning of everything. I don’t even think about leaving. Wednesday is my team, my club. I’m not interested in leaving.”

by Tavish
(you can find the author of this piece on Twitter @ElTav)