Carlos Carvalhal drops 'giant' Sheffield Wednesday claim | OneFootball

Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal has made a claim about the size of the club that Owls supporters will love.

It is fair to say that former Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal still holds a special place in the hearts of many Owls supporters.

Carvalhal was a relative unknown when he took over at Hillsborough in June 2015, and his appointment was not universally welcomed by Wednesday supporters, many of whom were unhappy with the decision to replace popular former manager Stuart Gray.

However, Carvalhal quickly won over the doubters as he led the Owls to a sixth-placed finish in the Championship in his first year in charge, but after overcoming Brighton & Hove Albion in the play-off semi-finals, his side suffered heartbreak as they were beaten 1-0 by Hull City in the final at Wembley.

Wednesday continued their progress under Carvalhal the following season as they recorded a fourth-placed finish, but they once again experienced play-off agony, this time losing to Huddersfield Town on penalties at the semi-final stage.

That would mark the start of a period of decline for the Owls, and Carvalhal left the club by mutual consent in December 2017 after a disappointing first half of the season, departing having won 56, drawn 37 and lost 38 of his 131 games in charge.

Carlos Carvalhal makes big Sheffield Wednesday claim ahead of League One return

Carvalhal has had an eventful nine years since his Wednesday exit, managing the likes of Swansea City, Rio Ave, Al-Wahda, Celta Vigo and Olympiacos, as well as having two spells in charge of Braga.

While Carvalhal has not managed in English football since leaving Swansea in 2018, he was linked with a sensational return to Wednesday in June 2023 following their promotion to the Championship, but those rumours were swiftly denied by then-owner Dejphon Chansiri, who claimed that there was "no chance" of the 60-year-old coming back to Hillsborough.

With the club suffering relegation from the Championship this season, it seems unlikely that Carvalhal will be back in the Owls' dugout any time soon, but speaking on talkSPORT this week, the Portuguese tactician made it clear that he still holds strong affection for the South Yorkshire outfit.

"I stay in love with the Championship, of course, the Premier (League) is the Premier, but the Championship, I stay in love with the teams, with the fight," Carvalhal said.

"Especially with the fans, because I was with a club that is a giant, because they have a massive support, even (though) they will be in League One. It’s a Premier club for me, but a big passion. I saw the last game. I think they played away, they have a full allocation. It’s unbelievable."

Quoting the video of his talkSPORT interview, Carvalhal doubled down on those comments on social media on Saturday morning, claiming that Wednesday would remain a "giant" club despite dropping back into League One.

X.

Sheffield Wednesday supporters may always have major Carlos Carvalhal regret

Chansiri may have destroyed his reputation among Wednesday supporters with his actions before putting the club into administration in October, but the appointment of Carvalhal was arguably his best decision of his decade-long tenure at Hillsborough.

Carvalhal not only led the club to the brink of the Premier League, but he also built a side that played an attractive, attacking brand of football, and he will forever be remembered fondly by Owls supporters.

However, there may still be some regret among the Wednesday faithful about calling for Carvalhal to depart during his underwhelming third season, particularly given that the club have never reached the same heights since his exit, and he was arguably a victim of his own success.