On 15th September 1860 King Pedro de Alcântara Maria Fernando Miguel Rafael Gonzaga Xavier João António Leopoldo Vítor Francisco de Assis Júlio Amélio de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha e Bragança, “the Hopeful”, officially recognised Setúbal (current population 89,303) as a city. And, by a coincidence that can be described as thoroughly unremarkable, almost 125 years later, on 11th January 1985, José Vítor Moreira Semedo was born in that same Lisboa-region city.
Whilst Semedo never made a league appearance for Sporting, he made his Serie A debut while on loan at Cagliari against AC Milan. Which probably provided him with plenty of relevant experience on which to draw when he was handed the task of anchoring Charlton’s midfield in his English league debut against sleeping minnows, Scunthorpe.
Capped at U-17, U-19 and U-21 level for Portugal, Semedo’s normal position has been in the centre of defence, but Alan Pardew prefers to play him in the Makele role or, as it is more accurately described, “pozitione Keith Jones”.
Factoid: Semedo is not the only London football club-based "Jose" whose home town is Setúbal. But I am not going to bother telling you who the other tosser is.