Exclusive:Sheffield Wednesday hero Glenn Loovens hails takeover ahead of Hillsborough return
Glenn Loovens is one of Sheffield Wednesday’s best-loved captains - and will make his return to Hillsborough on Saturday as the class of 2016 take the field in a charity match.
Glenn Loovens’ booming voice comes down the phone with the same level of authority that left Championship centre-forwards bearing bruises after encounters with Sheffield Wednesday a decade ago. He’s speaking to The Star on the move in Belgium in a call organised by ex-teammate and pal Daniel Pudil ahead of this weekend’s Owls charity match at Hillsborough.
The Dutchman, now 42, will lead out a side full of the comrades that took Wednesday to within 90 minutes of the Premier League in the early iterations of Dejphon Chansiri’s boom-and-bust tenure as Owls owner. A Mo Diame thunderstrike ultimately proved to be their undoing in a Championship play-off final remembered fondly by Owls supporters despite the result - and everything that followed.
Beyond the swagger and possibility of that Wednesday side were great characters, with Loovens as their leader. Messrs Westwood, Lees, Pudil, Palmer, Hunt, Hutchinson, Lee and Wallace will represent the cohort that got pulses racing in that 2015/16 campaign, which reaches its decade milestone this month. Fan favourites Fletcher, Winnall, Rhodes, Bullen, Coke and McGovern are scheduled to feature alongside them.
“Some of these guys I've not seen for 10 years almost,” Loovens said, pausing for a moment as if to wonder where that time had gone. “So it will be good to see each other again, to bring up some old memories and yeah, of course having a bit of fun and raising money for good cause. We used to spend every day together, you know, we had that bond. So it will be so good to see each other again. And yeah, I didn't have to think about it twice. I said straight away yes.
“I play maybe two, three times a year. We have like an event with all like Celtic legends or Feyenoord legends, but that's about it. Twice a year I kick a ball! But, listen, I'm still fit. I still look after myself and yeah, this is not a problem. But to kick a ball, it's a bit different. I'll be fine. I'll be fine.”
The players will first gather at a sold-out charity evening at Hillsborough on Friday night, where the big characters of that vibrant squad will regale stories of the time. Hangovers notwithstanding, a big crowd turnout is expected for the match the following day, with tickets available for just £8 and less for concessions. All profits from the day will be donated to the Weston Park Cancer Charity and the Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme. Kick-off is at 2pm.
Loovens, the quiet leader who played 150 times for the Owls across five seasons - more matches then he did for any other club - has retained some close friendships. He represented some of Europe’s most esteemed clubs in Feyenoord, Sunderland and Celtic but clearly holds Wednesday in the highest regard. As recently as March he attended a charity night headlined by ex-teammate Barry Bannan and will once again make the trip from Europe to support local causes, landing on Friday.
“I still speak regularly with Adthe Nuhui. He's practically family,” Loovens said. “I still speak to Ross Wallace quite a bit and Barry.
“So there are people in that squad I still speak to a lot and that’s not always how it goes in football. We really had a tight group, I would say. You know, I've done it, I played for 20 years almost and I have to say we had a special group where everybody had the same idea and same goal in mind to achieve something that season - not only that season but a couple of seasons. So, I think we really had a good group. That was off the pitch too. Big characters and we were really tight.”
Speaking on recent events at Wednesday, Loovens speaks positively about the club’s future just days after the takeover of the club by American consortium Arise Capital Partners was confirmed. When asked about his experience of ousted former owner Dejphon Chansiri, it is perhaps a mark of his integrity that he chooses not to trot out a crowd-pleasing take-down and instead admits he can speak only of his own experience - which in the early days was genial.
More recent events prove the takeover was clearly necessary, he made clear, and he forecasts a better future for the club. He said: “It was important that they get it sorted because it's a big club with some great support, you know. They deserve more than what happened this year and maybe the last couple of years. If you have to start every other season with a points deduction it's not good for morale for the team and the support. So, I'm happy that they found the solution and, yeah, it’s time to focus on brighter times ahead.”
Saturday’s game is headlined by the return not only of the near-miss play-off heroes, but of popular former manager Carlos Carvalhal, who steered the group to back-to-back play-off campaigns. Carvalhal will be joined by his coaching team for the match, including former Premier League boss Bruno Lage.
Asked when he last spent time with his former gaffer, he said it was not too long ago - when he made the trip to visit Carvalhal on one of his media visits across Europe. It’s clear the pair share a great deal of mutual respect.
“He came to Belgium with Braga, so I wanted to see him when he was over in Brussels. I think it was last year actually. He's also a guy I sometimes speak to just to see how he is. I still call him boss, he still calls me cap. So, you know, the mutual respect was always there and it's still there. I had a lot of time for him as a coach, but also as a human being off the pitch. I have nothing but praise for Carlos.
“It's always good to come back to the club. I used to love to play in Hillsborough. It will be great for everyone, the support was always there home and away and it will be great for us to give something small back to the fans. I’m hoping they’ll be excited to see us back and again and of course we have the same feeling for them. Hopefully it will be a good day for everyone.”