Nelson Semedo returns home: "It will be a very special match for me"

Nelson Semedo has returned to Lisbon. This is the city where the full-back burst onto the football scene and which ultimately saw him earn a move to FC Barcelona.

In an interview for Barça's official website, Semedo said: "I started to play football on the streets of Lisbon with my neighbours and people older than me. Little by little I got better and better and I grew which helped. It will be a special match as Lisbon is where everything started and the doors opened for me in footballing terms." 

Semedo, who made his name at Benfica, believes Lisbon is the perfect city. “Lisbon is a great place in many ways: the people, the colours, the language, the architecture. It's one of the nicest places in the world, not just in Europe. The climate is great as well. It's a spectacular city."

On the match against Bayern, Semedo believes Barça have every reason to be confident. “We know how they set up and how they play from the back, we will be attentive. More than anything we will focus on ourselves and putting in the best performance possible and scoring. If we play well we will have a chance to reach the semi-finals." 

However, Semedo is aware the team will need to produce an almost perfect performance to reach the next round. "One of the keys will be at the back and not giving them chances. We will not be able to have the ball all the time as they won't want to defend all the time. We have to have the ball as much as possible because that is the best way to defend. We will play our match with our style."