Four years on from when he first swapped the Nou Camp for the South Bank, Nelson Semedo had a season to remember last term, with the defender in the form of his career under Gary O’Neil.
After a summer where several experienced faces departed Molineux, the Portuguese right-back flourished during a 2023/24 campaign in which he became a senior voice in the camp and produced what he described as his best in gold and black, which was backed up by his teammates choosing him as their Player of the Season.
Even in his 13th season as a professional, the 30-year-old – who is now preparing for Euro 2024 after being called up to the Portugal squad for this summer’s tournament in Germany – showed signs of improvement several of his teammates have also displayed under O’Neil, something he puts down to an increase in confidence.
On his best season at Wolves
“In general, I think it was a good season. We did really well, we’ve been fighting for the European places until the end of the season, so I think it was a good season for us.
“For me, personally, I think it was my best season here since I arrived. But the team helped me a lot as well, because all of the team were doing well – not just one or two players – all of the players, the subs that came on were doing well as well.
“The coach has helped a lot and he also helped me to be at my best.”
On improving under O’Neil
“It’s always good to receive good feedback from the coach, and it gives you the confidence and it gives you a boost as a player. He’s been really good at that, which is why I think everybody has done really well.
“It’s little things and it’s all in the details. I had more confidence, so everything I did, I did it better than what I did in the other seasons.”
On adding consistency to his game
“I missed one game because of a yellow card suspension and then I missed the one against Arsenal because I was injured, so I felt really well this season – I felt really well physically and mentally because we were doing a good season.
“It was a fun season for me. I played in a lot of positions – I played at right-back, I played at centre-back, I played wing-back, and even centre midfield one time – but everybody did a bit of everything.”
On the supporters’ song for him
“I’m not going to lie – that’s really nice to hear. Even my kids are singing that to me sometimes, so I’m really proud of that.
“The supporters really helped us a lot, both at home and away, and we always felt like we were playing at home.”
Nelson Semedo securing the points at Molineux.
— Wolves (@Wolves) March 9, 2024
🇵🇹🙌 pic.twitter.com/Uu3z93etOZ
On his upcoming summer at the Euros
“I’d been working hard to be selected but our team is full of quality and a lot of players with a big quality who play in good teams, so I’m really happy to be selected because I really wanted to go.
“Sa will be there and Neto will be there as well, but there will be other familiar faces as well – Matheus [Nunes], Ruben Neves, it’s nice to have the Wolves group in the national team.
“Well, we have a great team and we have to be confident. We’ve got to go game by game, but I think we are one of the teams who can win the European Championships.”
