'We wake a giant' - 'very emotional' Carlos Carvalhal reflects on time at Sheffield Wednesday
The Owls came close to winning promotion to Premier League twice in 2016 and 2017
Carlos Carvalhal said his return to Hillsborough was ‘very emotional’ for him.
The 60-year-old, who led Sheffield Wednesday to successive Championship play-off campaigns in 2016 and 2017, was back at S6 on Saturday for a charity match. He was joined by coaching staff and players from that period as they came together to raise money for Weston Park Cancer Charity and Sheffield Wednesday FC Community Programme.
A dinner evening took place at Hillsborough in which players told stories and Carvalhal broke down in tears when fans sang his ‘Carlos had a dream’ song, a popular chant from the terraces in that period. Despite being sacked by Dejphon Chansiri on Christmas Eve 2017, he has not let that ruin his memories of his time at the club.
“Oh, very emotional to me,” he told The Star when reflecting on the day. “Very emotional today and yesterday. To see the players, the club, the stadium, the fans, it was unbelievable. The song - Carlos had a dream - completely kill me, because that song represents a lot to me. When I hear it, I get really emotional, especially in that moment. I have very good memories. I just have good things, even if I was sacked in Christmas. But I can't say nothing bad about the club.”
Carvalhal led Wednesday to the Championship play-off final in 2016 but they lost 1-0 to Hull City. That is the closest the club has come to reaching the Premier League since falling out of the top division in 2000. They reached the play-offs again the next season but fell short in the semi-finals against eventual winners Huddersfield Town.
He said: “We achieved Wembley, something that I dream all the time. To achieve Wembley, we wake a giant. So everything was positive to me. It is not easy to achieve the finals and in two years we achieve one semi-final and one final. In this period it is a teeny thing which can make a difference because the teams are very equal, but very proud of what we did.”