Former Sheffield Wednesday man speaks of ‘huge pain’ after failed Premier League push

The Portuguese attacker, who is now playing for Farense at the age of 34, joined the Owls in 2015/16 from Nacional, however endured some tough spells on the sidelines due to injury and wasn’t able to play as much as he would have liked.

Matias did write his name into Wednesday folklore, however, with his incredible goal against Leeds United just four games into his career at Hillsborough, and though it wasn’t an ideal period for him he says that he enjoyed his experience in Sheffield – even though it hurt not giving the fans what they wanted to see most.

“It was another reality, which was to play in England and, if possible, at the highest level,” he told A Bola. “Unfortunately, we didn’t achieve that step and I would have liked to have done it for Sheffield Wednesday and we had some chances of reaching the Premier League, but we always lost in the play-offs.

“It was a huge pain, because a club of that size, with fantastic fans and a spectacular structure, deserved to be in the Premier League. At the time I had some clubs which I could have chosen, but my dream was to play in England, and I am very happy with the experience I had there.”

Matias was on the bench for the play-off final in 2016 as Wednesday lost out on a Premier League spot to Hull City, and was suspended for the two legs against Huddersfield Town the following year after a red card on the final day of the regular season.