"The hunger to win is natural here"

The winning of "Tetracampeonato" is unique in Benfica and all the participants will be in History, but the defender places the two championships won, by him, at the same level.

"We were overwhelmed for being able to contribute to a unique achievement, making part of History. But the two years were very good. I'm not giving extra importance to this one", he declared.

The eagles have been dominating the national panorama in the last seasons, winning 11 of the 15 titles, and Nélson Semedo explains why: Hard work, lots of effort, union and the group's quality. These factors were determinant for our success.

On the top of the table since Match Day 5, it was important to keep the focus while FC Porto was coming closer. "We wanted to think about ourselves, in our group, not wasting time with distractions. We were in the 1^st position and if our work was done there was no need to think about the others", he said.

The decisive match was on May 13th - Match Day 33 - against V.Guimarães. "In Seixal and when arriving at the stadium, we were surrounded by supporters. Our thought was only to win. We have made a great match".

Concentration to win the Portuguese Cup

After the Tetra's celebrations, it was time for winning the Portuguese Cup. "To win is never too much. The "Triplete" (Championship, Portuguese Cup and Super Cup) was hard but, with quality and union, we managed to get what we wanted. We won three trophies but we wanted four. The League Cup is missing here. There is always the same ambition here, we are used to it. The hunger to win titles is natural in this "house".

The Portuguese Cup final was even marked by the VAR's introduction. The team was ready for it because "there was a clarification session in the previous week". "The player got to keep a balanced attitude, with no distractions or thoughts about their work".

Outstanding defender

He came from Sintrense as a winger. In the second team (B), Hélder Cristovão understood his qualities as a defender and he was right. Today he is one of the best in Europe.

"In the B team, the coach asked me to be a right defender, because there was only one at the time and we had midfielders with many qualities. The team was asking for a defender".

Nowadays, Nélson Semedo thanks Hélder Cristovão and wants to keep improving in the position: "If I am what I am today, I also have to thank him. From then on I started to accepting that I was going to be a right defender. The things went well and the adaptation was very fast. A few months later I had no doubts: I wanted to play in this position".


Luisão, Rui Vitória and Luís Filipe Vieira

There are names that Nélson cannot forget. Just like Hélder Cristovão and his teammates, the international player refers others: "Luisão was a pillar for me and every team should have one player like him".

“The coach, Rui Vitória was very important for my development”, and “The president too, because of the trust he has given to me”, he admitted.