Carlos Carvalhal still wonders what might have happened if Sheffield Wednesday had completed the job at Wembley. Ten years later, supporters probably do too.
Portuguese newspaper O Jogo this week revisited Wednesday’s remarkable 2015/16 season through a major feature tied to the book “Carlos Had a Dream”, with both author Dominick Howson and Carvalhal himself reflecting 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, missing out on what remains one of the richest prizes in football. For many supporters, it still hurts.
“For younger generations, the 2015/16 season defines the club,” Howson explained. “That trip to Wembley was monumental, the first in 23 years. For many supporters it was the biggest moment of their lives.”
More than 40,000 Wednesday supporters travelled to Wembley that day. Fans believed promotion could finally return the club to the Premier League for the first time since 2000.
The £170m question
Howson admitted the feeling around the club during that period was unlike anything Sheffield Wednesday supporters had experienced for years.
“Nobody expected us to fight for promotion, to reach the play-offs,” he recalled. “And nobody expected us to beat Brighton to reach 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. The ending, however, was brutal.
“Many players froze on the biggest stage in football,” Howson admitted. “It was a painful ending to a remarkable season.”
Howson believes promotion would have transformed Carvalhal’s status forever.
“If Carvalhal had completed the job with promotion to the Premier League, I think he would have mythical status in the city and would be adored forever,” he said.
The financial impact would also have been enormous. Promotion was estimated to be worth around £170m (€195m), money that could potentially have reshaped the future of the club.
“It could have helped remodel the club over time,” Howson admitted, before adding a more cautious thought. “But with what we know today about the ownership situation, maybe not going up was a blessing in disguise. We do not know what might have happened.”
Carvalhal himself has no interest in dwelling too heavily on the defeat.
“If we had gone up, I do not know if I would have stayed for many years at Sheffield Wednesday,” he reflected. “It was what it was. We started as underdogs. We were not promotion favourites and still finished sixth.”
The Portuguese manager instead prefers to focus on how dramatically expectations changed during that first season.
“I arrived at Sheffield Wednesday with the idea of stabilising the team, then suddenly we found ourselves fighting for Premier League promotion,” he said. “I can only feel like a champion for surpassing the objectives.”
He also admitted his connection to the club became much deeper than expected.
“At the time I had opportunities to leave, but I did not want to because of my attachment to the club,” Carvalhal revealed.
“If you leave a mark on a club to the point people still remember you years later, and someone decides to write a book about that campaign, then it is rewarding,” he said. “Only promotion was missing because everything else was extraordinary.”
Carvalhal also pointed proudly to the historical significance of what his staff achieved.
“We were the club’s first foreign coaching staff and responsible for the best results of the modern era,” he explained. “To remain in people’s memories as Portuguese makes it even more special.”
“Wake up a giant”
Carvalhal’s personality became almost as famous as the football itself. Supporters still remember the metaphors, the emotional speeches and the sense that something different was happening around Hillsborough.
One phrase followed him everywhere.
“I had an expression that became very popular – ‘let’s wake up a giant’,” Carvalhal recalled.
In many ways, Sheffield Wednesday supporters believe he actually did it.
“The club really was asleep,” he explained. “We almost doubled the crowds, increased attendance by 30 per cent and our away allocations always sold out.”
Then came Wembley.
“The 40,000 tickets we received were sold out,” Carvalhal added. “That was our big objective.”
Howson also revisited the origin of the famous “Carlos Had a Dream” chant, which eventually became inseparable from that team.
“It happened at Brentford after Lucas João scored a late winner,” he explained. “The supporters sang the song all afternoon and he did not even realise it was about him at first.”
Carvalhal embraced it completely. According to Howson, the Portuguese coach later had the lyrics embroidered inside his jacket and printed onto his shoes.
Howson also highlighted another famous Carvalhal moment, this time after a chaotic comeback against Cardiff City.
“Wednesday looked beaten, then he threw on two more forwards and started a crazy comeback,” the author recalled. “Afterwards he explained it by saying he had ‘put all the meat on the grill’.”
The explanation became another example of the Portuguese manager’s strange charm.
“It was philosophical, colourful and said with a smile,” Howson added. “He connected with people beyond the results. There was charisma and humour.”
The Arsenal story
One of the best stories from 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 he deliberately told both players they would not be involved. The reaction was exactly what he wanted.
“I told Ross Wallace and Barry Bannan they were not going to play because we had too many matches,” he explained. “It was a conversation to test their reactions.”
The pair were furious.
“They were upset and convinced they would not play,” Carvalhal said. “But I was always convinced I would use them.”
Believing they had the night off, both players went out drinking.
“They went for beers and drank a bit too much,” Carvalhal laughed. “But because I actually planned to play them, they ended up starting and both had great games.”
Sheffield Wednesday then destroyed Arsenal 3-0.
“They were surprised and started laughing afterwards,” Carvalhal added. “But in the proper British way, there is no beer that can defeat us.”
That line probably sums up why Sheffield Wednesday supporters still remember the Carvalhal years differently from almost everything that followed.
