António Paulo Sanches Semedo (born June 1, 1979 in
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
) is a
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
footballer, currently playing in
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
with FC Unirea Urziceni.
Operating on the left or right wings or behind the striker, he is nicknamed "The
Black PantherA black panther is a large black cat. Black panthers are color variants of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America reported black panthers may be black jaguars or possibly black...
".
After beginning his professional career in the
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
area with modest
Casa Pia ACCasa Pia Atlético Clube is a sports association founded in 1920 and based in Lisbon, Portugal. The club is named after Casa Pia, a Portuguese children's charity, and many of its athletes come from that institution...
, Semedo moved to
C.F. Estrela da AmadoraClube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora , or Estrela, is a Portuguese sports club based on Amadora, northwest of Lisbon...
in 2000. He went on to establish himself as an important offensive element, whether as a starter or
from the benchA substitute is a player in association football who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is not performing well; there may also be tactical reasons such as bringing...
.
António Paulo Sanches Semedo (born June 1, 1979 in
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
) is a
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
footballer, currently playing in
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
with FC Unirea Urziceni.
Operating on the left or right wings or behind the striker, he is nicknamed "The
Black PantherA black panther is a large black cat. Black panthers are color variants of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America reported black panthers may be black jaguars or possibly black...
".
Club career
After beginning his professional career in the
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
area with modest
Casa Pia ACCasa Pia Atlético Clube is a sports association founded in 1920 and based in Lisbon, Portugal. The club is named after Casa Pia, a Portuguese children's charity, and many of its athletes come from that institution...
, Semedo moved to
C.F. Estrela da AmadoraClube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora , or Estrela, is a Portuguese sports club based on Amadora, northwest of Lisbon...
in 2000. He went on to establish himself as an important offensive element, whether as a starter or
from the benchA substitute is a player in association football who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is not performing well; there may also be tactical reasons such as bringing...
. In
his last seasonThe 2005–06 Portuguese Liga season started on 19 August 2005 with a match between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Os Belenenses and ended on 7 May 2006. Futebol Clube do Porto was the new champion with 79 points, winning their 21st championship...
, he scored six goals in 32 matches, helping the capital side to finish 9th after having promoted the previous season.
In 2006–07, Semedo joined
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
's
CFR ClujCFR Cluj is a Romanian professional football club from the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj county. The club have spent most of their existence in the lower divisions, except for a spell in Divizia A in the 1970s, until they received significant financial backing from Árpád Pászkány in 2002...
, as the
first divisionLiga I or due to sponsorship reasons, Frutti Fresh Liga I is the official name of the top division of the Romanian football league system. It was established in 1909 and commenced play for the 1909-10 campaign. Until 1932 it had various play-off types. Liga I is part of Romanian Professional...
side was filled with Portuguese players. After good displays during two seasons, and a
doubleThe Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
in
his lastThe 2007-08 season of Liga I began on July 27, 2007 and ended on May 7, 2008. CFR Cluj became champions, winning their first trophy and ending a 17-year long reign of Bucharest-based teams....
, he moved to the most successful club in the country, FC Steaua Bucureşti.
On September 13, 2008, Semedo scored from a
corner kickA corner kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It was first devised in Sheffield under the Sheffield Rules in 1867...
on his debut, as Steaua won 4–1 against
FC Farul ConstanţaFC Farul Constanţa is a professional football club from Constanţa, Romania. Established in 1949, Farul is currently competing in Liga 2 ,after being relegated at the end of Liga I 2008-09. The club has yet to win a Romanian title...
. The following week, he scored a brace in the 4–0 victory against
CS Gaz Metan MediaşCS Gaz Metan Mediaş is a Romanian professional football club from Mediaş, Sibiu county, founded in 1945.They are currently playing in the Romanian second division, after relegating at the end of Liga I 2008–09, although they play quality football, appreciated by many, but not enough to avoid...
.
In 2009-10, Semedo was demoted to
the B squadSteaua II Bucureşti is a Romanian professional football club from Bucharest, Romania, founded in 2004. It's the reserve team of Steaua Bucureşti.They currently play in the Liga II after promoting last season from the Liga III.-Current Squad:...
. Several weeks later, his contract was terminated, but he stayed in the country, signing with FC Unirea Urziceni.
International career
Semedo played for
Portugal U-21sThe Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation . They are nicknamed "Esperanças." Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugal's hopes for the future...
at the
2002 European ChampionshipThe UEFA U-21 Championship 2002, which spanned two years , had 47 entrants. Of the teams to reach the final eight, Switzerland were chosen as the hosts.Czech Republic U-21s won the competition for the first time....
, as the nation finished third in its group.
Honours
| Season |
Club |
Title |
| 2007-08 |
Romania CFR ClujCFR Cluj is a Romanian professional football club from the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj county. The club have spent most of their existence in the lower divisions, except for a spell in Divizia A in the 1970s, until they received significant financial backing from Árpád Pászkány in 2002...
|
Romanian League Liga I or due to sponsorship reasons, Frutti Fresh Liga I is the official name of the top division of the Romanian football league system. It was established in 1909 and commenced play for the 1909-10 campaign. Until 1932 it had various play-off types. Liga I is part of Romanian Professional...
|
| 2007-08 |
Romania CFR ClujCFR Cluj is a Romanian professional football club from the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj county. The club have spent most of their existence in the lower divisions, except for a spell in Divizia A in the 1970s, until they received significant financial backing from Árpád Pászkány in 2002...
|
Romanian Cup |
External links