Carlos Carvalhal still wonders what would have happened if Sheffield Wednesday had completed the job at Wembley. Ten years from now, supporters will probably do the same.
portuguese newspaper game This week Wednesday's remarkable 2015/16 season was revisited through a major feature attached to the book "Carlos Had a Dream", in which authors Dominic Howson and Carvalhal both reflected on the club's painful near-miss and the stories that still surround that team.
Sheffield Wednesday reached the Championship play-off final under Carvalhal before losing 1–0 to Hull City on Wednesday, missing out on one of football's richest prizes. For many supporters, it still hurts.
"For the younger generation, the 2015/16 season defines the club," Howson explained. "That trip to Wembley was memorable, the first in 23 years. For many supporters it was the greatest moment of their lives."
Over 40,000 Wednesday supporters traveled to Wembley that day. Fans believed that promotion could eventually bring the club back to the Premier League for the first time since 2000.
The £170 million question
Howson acknowledged that the feeling towards the club during that period was different to that experienced by Sheffield Wednesday supporters for years.
"Nobody expected us to fight for promotion, to reach the play-offs," He remembered. “And nobody expected us to beat Brighton and get to Wembley.”
That semi-final against Brighton remains one of the defining nights of Carvalhal's spell. Wednesday won 3-1 on aggregate and suddenly found themselves one game away from the Premier League. However, the ending was brutal.
"Many players froze on football's biggest stage," Howson accepted. "It was a painful end to a remarkable season."
Howson believes that the promotion would have changed Carvalhal's status forever.
"If Carvalhal had finished with promotion to the Premier League, I think he would have achieved legendary status in the city and he would have been forever appreciated." He said.
The financial impact will also be huge. Promotion was valued at around £170 million (€195 million), money that could potentially shape the club's future.
"This could have helped the club to reposition itself over time," Howson acknowledged, before adding a more cautious thought. "But given what we know today about the ownership situation, perhaps not going up was a blessing in disguise. We don't know what might have happened."
Carvalhal himself is not interested in dwelling too much on the defeat.
"If we had gone up, I don't know whether I would have stayed at Sheffield Wednesday for many years," He reflected. "It was like that. We started as underdogs. We weren't promotion favorites and still finished sixth."
The Portuguese manager instead prefers to focus on how expectations changed dramatically during that first season.
"I arrived at Sheffield Wednesday with the idea of stabilizing the team, then suddenly we found ourselves fighting for promotion to the Premier League," He said. "I can feel like a champion only for exceeding objectives."
He also admitted that his relationship with the club has become deeper than expected.
"At that time I had opportunities to leave, but I did not want to do so because of my attachment to the club," Carvalhal revealed.
"If you leave a mark on a club to such an extent that people remember you years later, and someone decides to write a book about that campaign, then that's rewarding," He said. "Only the promotion was missing because everything else was extraordinary."
Carvalhal also proudly highlighted the historical significance of what his employees accomplished.
"We were the club's first foreign coaching staff and were responsible for some of the best results of the modern era," he explained. “Staying in people's memories as Portuguese makes it even more special.”
"A giant wake up"
Carvalhal's personality became almost as famous as the football. Supporters still remember the metaphor, the emotional speech and the feeling that something different was happening around Hillsborough.
One sentence followed him everywhere.
"I had an expression that became very popular - 'Let's wake up a giant'," Carvalhal was recalled.
In many ways, Sheffield Wednesday supporters believe that is exactly what they did.
"The club was literally sleeping," he explained. "We almost doubled the crowds, increased attendances by 30 per cent and our away allocations were always sold out."
Then came Wembley.
"The 40,000 tickets we got were sold out," Carvalhal added. “That was our big objective.”
Howson also revisited the origins of the famous "Carlos had a dream" chant, which eventually became inseparable from that team.
"It happened at Brentford when Lucas Joao scored a late winner," he explained. "The supporters sang the song all afternoon and at first they didn't even realize it was about them."
Carvalhal embraced it completely. According to Howson, the Portuguese coach later had the song embroidered on the inside of his jacket and printed on his boots.
Howson also highlighted another famous Carvalhal moment, this time after a chaotic comeback against Cardiff City.
"Had a loss on Wednesday, then threw in two more forwards and began a spectacular comeback," The author recalled. "He later explained this by saying that he 'put all the meat on the grill.'"
This explanation became another example of the Portuguese manager's strange charm.
"It was philosophical, colorful and said with a smile," Howson added. "He connected with people regardless of results. He had charisma and humor."
arsenal story
One of the best stories of Carvalhal's spell involved Barry Bannan and Ross Wallace before Sheffield Wednesday's famous 3–0 win over Arsenal in the League Cup, a result many supporters still talk about today.
Carvalhal admitted that he had deliberately told both players that they would not be involved. The reaction was exactly what he wanted.
"I told Ross Wallace and Barry Bannon that they wouldn't play because we had too many matches." he explained. "This was a conversation to test their reactions."
The pair were angry.
"They were upset and convinced they wouldn't play," Carvalhal said. "But I was always confident that I would use them."
Believing they had the night off, both players went out for a drink.
"They went to drink beer and drank too much," Carvalhal laughed. "But because I actually planned on playing them, they started right away and both had very good games."
Sheffield Wednesday then defeated Arsenal 3–0.
"They were surprised and started laughing afterward," Carvalhal added. “But in proper British fashion, there is no beer that can beat ours.”
This line perhaps explains why Sheffield Wednesday supporters still remember the Carvalhal years differently from almost everything that followed.
