Rúben Semedo

Rúben Afonso Borges Semedo (born 4 April 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Greek club Olympiacos as a central defender or a defensive midfielder.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Borges and the second or paternal family name is Semedo.
Rúben Semedo
Semedo with Olympiacos in 2019
Personal information
Full name Rúben Afonso Borges Semedo
Date of birth (1994-04-04) 4 April 1994
Place of birth Amadora, Portugal
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Olympiacos
Number 3
Youth career
2006–2007 Sacavenense
2007–2010 Futebol Benfica
2010–2013 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Sporting B 23 (1)
2014–2017 Sporting CP 38 (0)
2014–2015 → Reus (loan) 16 (0)
2015–2016 → Vitória Setúbal (loan) 15 (0)
2017–2019 Villarreal 4 (0)
2018–2019 → Huesca (loan) 11 (0)
2019 → Rio Ave (loan) 14 (2)
2019– Olympiacos 24 (1)
National team
2014 Portugal U20 4 (1)
2016–2017 Portugal U21 10 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:35, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Sporting

Born in Amadora in the Lisbon metropolitan area of Cape Verdean descent, Semedo joined Sporting CP's youth system at the age of 16. On 11 August 2013 he made his debut with the first team, scoring in a friendly with Fiorentina.[1]

Semedo spent the 2013–14 season with the B-team in the Segunda Liga, his first appearance in the competition occurring on 25 August 2013 as he played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home win against Trofense.[2] On 26 August 2014 he, alongside teammate Vítor, was loaned to Spanish side Reus.[3]

For the 2015–16 campaign, Semedo was promoted to Sporting's main squad. He made his competitive debut – winning his first trophy in the process – on 9 August, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 victory over Benfica for the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.[4] Five days later, however, he was loaned to fellow top-flight club Vitória de Setúbal.[5]

During his brief spell in Setúbal, Semedo was sent off twice, including once in a game against Rio Ave for the Taça de Portugal.[6] In the 2016 January transfer window, he was recalled by the Lions due to a defensive injury crisis.[7][8]

On 18 February 2016, Semedo played his first game in European competition, being sent off after two bookable offences in a 0–1 home loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League.[9] On 9 March he signed a new contract until 2022, with a release clause being set at €45 million.[10]

Villarreal

On 7 June 2017, Semedo was transferred to Villarreal for €14 million.[11] He made his La Liga debut on 25 August, playing the entire 0–3 away defeat against Real Sociedad.[12] After Javier Calleja took over as head coach on 25 September he fell out of favour, and having seen himself become a rotation player his stint was also plagued by injuries, which ultimately required surgery in December.[13]

On 19 July 2018, Semedo was loaned to newly promoted club Huesca for the upcoming season.[14] Huesca's decision to sign him on loan attracted some criticism, but sporting director Emilio Vega stated that the player would be in good shape once the season began because he played some matches while in prison.[13] Moreover, Vega stated that they would not be monitoring his off-field behaviour. “I was very keen to play again and Huesca have given me an opportunity to do so in the first division. I didn’t hesitate to accept their offer”, Semedo said at his introductory press conference.[13]

Still owned by Villarreal, and after being deemed surplus to requirements by manager Francisco,[15] Semedo returned to Portugal on 29 January 2019, signing with Rio Ave until June.[16]

Olympiacos

On 25 June 2019, Semedo joined Olympiacos for €4.5 million signing a four-year contract – Villarreal retained a 20% resale rate on the player and he was to earn around €700,000 per year, being the club's second-most expensive defender after Belgian Bjorn Engels was bought from Club Brugge for €7 million in 2017[17][18] and sharing teams with compatriots Pedro Martins (manager), Daniel Podence and José Sá.[19] He scored his first goal for the team on 30 July, with a close-range effort following a corner from Giorgos Masouras after Aleš Hruška saved Yassine Meriah's shot, in a 4–0 home win over Viktoria Plzeň in the UEFA Champions League's second qualifying round;[20] he repeated the feat in the next stage of the same competition, as the hosts beat İstanbul Başakşehir 2–0 and won 3–0 on aggregate.[21]

International career

On 24 March 2016, Semedo marked his debut for the Portugal under-21 team with a goal, scoring the opener in a 4–0 home defeat of Liechtenstein in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers played in Ponta Delgada.[22] In October 2019, while still awaiting trial for alleged crimes in Spain, he received his first call-up for the senior team ahead of UEFA Euro 2020 qualification matches against Luxembourg and Ukraine.[23]

In January 2018, it was announced that Semedo would stand trial for an altercation in a bar in Valencia the previous November, when the player allegedly brandished a pistol and made threats while he was nursing an injury.[24][25] He was arrested again for a separate incident on 20 February, this time for allegedly tying up and assaulting a man in his home alongside two others, then going to the victim's house to burgle it.[26] For the latter incident, he was charged with attempted murder and placed in preventive detention.[27]

On 13 July 2018, Semedo was released from prison after paying bail of €30,000.[28]

Career statistics
As of match played 28 June 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sporting B 2013–14[29] Segunda Liga 231———231
Sporting 2013–14[30] Primeira Liga 0010000010
2015–16[29] Primeira Liga 14000002[lower-alpha 3]0160
2016–17[29] Primeira Liga 24010006[lower-alpha 4]0310
Total 380200080480
Reus (loan) 2014–15[29] Segunda División B 160———160
Vitória Setúbal (loan) 2015–16[30] Primeira Liga 150301000190
Villarreal 2017–18[29] La Liga 4000—1[lower-alpha 5]050
Huesca (loan) 2018–19[29] La Liga 11010——120
Rio Ave (loan) 2018–19[29] Primeira Liga 142———142
Olympiacos 2019–20[29] Superleague 24130—144415
Career total 145490102341788
  1. Includes Taça de Portugal, Copa del Rey, Greek Cup
  2. Includes Taça da Liga
  3. One appearance in Portuguese Super Cup, one in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearance in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Sporting

References
  1. Pereira, Sérgio (13 September 2013). "Ruben Semedo, o craque descoberto em 45 minutos" [Ruben Semedo, the ace discovered in 45 minutes] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  2. "Sporting B-Trofense, 1–0: Betinho garante triunfo" [Sporting B-Trofense, 1–0: Betinho provides win]. Record (in Portuguese). 25 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  3. "Vítor Silva i Rubén Semedo darreres incorporacions" [Vítor Silva and Rubén Semedo the last additions] (in Catalan). Reus Deportiu. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  4. "Benfica 0−1 Sporting" (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  5. "Rúben Semedo: "O meu primeiro objetivo é ser titular"" [Rúben Semedo: "My first goal is to start"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  6. "Polícia acalmou adeptos após expulsão de Rúben Semedo" [Polícia settled fans down after Rúben Semedo ejection]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 16 December 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  7. "Jorge Jesus atento aos jogadores emprestados" [Jorge Jesus keeping an eye on loaned players] (in Portuguese). Relvado. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  8. Almeida Gonçalves, Vítor (20 January 2016). "Rúben Semedo de regresso a Alvalade" [Rúben Semedo returns to Alvalade]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  9. "Advantage Leverkusen after Sporting scalp". UEFA. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  10. "Comunicado sobre a renovação de Rúben Semedo" [Release on Rúben Semedo renewal] (in Portuguese). Sporting CP. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  11. "BRIEF-Sporting transfers Ruben Semedo to Villarreal for 14 mln euros". Reuters. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  12. Pérez, Javier (25 August 2017). "Andrés Fernández se lesiona de gravedad en el homenaje con goleada de la Real a Xabi Prieto" [Andrés Fernández seriously injured in Real's homage with goals to Xabi Prieto]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  13. McTear, Euan (1 August 2018). "Can Rúben Semedo resurrect his career at Huesca?". Tifo Football. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  14. "Semedo jugará en la SD Huesca" [Semedo will play at SD Huesca] (in Spanish). SD Huesca. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  15. "Francisco Rodríguez: "Semedo no entra en mis planes y el club busca una solución"" [Francisco Rodríguez: "Semedo is not part of my plans and the club is looking for a way out"]. Diario del AltoAragón (in Spanish). 5 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  16. "Rúben Semedo no Rio Ave" [Rúben Semedo to Rio Ave]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 29 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  17. Samolis, Dimitris (25 June 2019). "Ολυμπιακός: Οι λεπτομέρειες του deal για Σεμέδο" [Olympiacos: Details of the deal with Semedo] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  18. Nicolaides, Shaun (25 June 2019). "Semedo travelling to Athens ahead of Olympiacos move". Agona Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  19. "Três portugueses titulares no empate do Olympiacos de Pedro Martins" [Three Portuguese start in draw of Pedro Martins' Olympiacos]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 23 July 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  20. Samolis, Dimitris (30 July 2019). "Ολυμπιακός – Πλζεν 4–0: Διέλυσε τους Τσέχους με μπαλάρα" [Olympiacos – Plzeň 4–0: Czechs sent packing with a stunner] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  21. Andrade, David (13 August 2019). "Rúben Semedo marca no apuramento do Olympiacos" [Rúben Semedo scores as Olympiacos go through]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  22. Castro, Gaspar (24 March 2016). "Golear cedo e cedo descansar no regresso aos Açores" [Early routing and early resting in return to the Azores] (in Portuguese). SAPO. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  23. Garcia, Adriana (3 October 2019). "Portugal call up Ruben Semedo as he awaits trial for attempted murder". ESPN FC. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  24. "Ruben Semedo a contas com a justiça por alegado incidente com pistola" [Arm of justice catches Ruben Semedo for alleged incident with pistol]. Público (in Portuguese). 26 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  25. "La Policía investiga a Semedo por amenazas con una pistola en un club de alterne" [Police investigate Semedo for threats with a pistol in bar]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  26. "Rúben Semedo detido. Outra vez" [Rúben Semedo arrested. Again] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  27. "Ruben Semedo: Villarreal defender charged with attempted murder in Spain". BBC Sport. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  28. Rodríguez, M. Á. (13 July 2018). "Ruben Semedo to leave prison after paying bail of 30,000 euros". Marca. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  29. "Rúben Semedo". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  30. "Rúben Semedo". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 7 November 2019. Select season detail via magnifying glass icon at end of row.
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