When Sheffield Wednesday struck gold with big 2015 decision involving Carlos Carvalhal | OneFootball

The years under Carlos Carvalhal turned out to be the best in Sheffield Wednesday's modern history.

Sheffield Wednesday's decision to appoint Carlos Carvalhal in 2015 was met with confusion and intrigue, as the club opted to appoint a manager who had been unemployed for the previous three years.

The Portuguese manager's CV wasn't exactly glittering, and his unveiling raised eyebrows. However, he guided the Owls to one of their best periods in the club's modern history.

Taking Wednesday to the brink of the Premier League twice, the appointment of Carvalhal turned out to be an inspired one.

Dejphon Chansiri's inspired Carlos Carvalhal appointment

New owner Dejphon Chansiri made his intentions clear in the summer of 2015: he wanted to take Sheffield Wednesday to the Premier League.

The value of promotion to the top-flight in 2016 was north of £100 million, and the simple fact of the matter is that this would have been completely transformative for Wednesday. But as we know, it didn't quite happen.

Carvalhal’s impact was immediate. Wednesday finished sixth in the Championship, booking a place in the play-offs. They dispatched Brighton with a raucous Hillsborough crowd behind them, setting up a Wembley showdown with Hull City.

On that day, Wednesday were just one Mohamed Diame thunderbolt away from the Premier League. The dream slipped away, but supporters knew that something special was being built.

However, Carvalhal's men went again the following season. They finished fourth, heading into the play-offs for the second successive year.

Set for a semi-final clash with fellow Yorkshire outfit Huddersfield Town, once again, Wednesday were so close.

After two tight legs, it all came down to penalties at Hillsborough. Wednesday fell short, and Huddersfield went on to clinch promotion at Wembley, yet again via a penalty shootout.

The Owls suffered another crushing blow, missing out on another opportunity to bring in big money alongside Premier League football.

Carlos Carvalhal remembered fondly at Hillsborough - despite the near misses

After a poor start to the following 2017/18 campaign, Carvalhal left Sheffield Wednesday on Christmas Eve, going on to join Swansea City in the Premier League.

Jos Luhukay was able to steady the ship. At the same time, star man Fernando Forestieri missed 34 matches that season due to a knee injury, before eventually making his return towards the back end of the campaign.

Club record signing Jordan Rhodes failed to produce at the club as he did with Blackburn, and Wednesday struggled without a recognised talisman up top, and the Owls would be unable to sustain another promotion charge.

By 2021, Wednesday were relegated to League One. There were points deductions and Financial Fair Play issues. While clubs going up and coming back down from the Premier League had their top-flight riches readily available, including arch-rivals Sheffield United, Wednesday had nothing to fall back on.

The years under Carlos Carvalhal turned out to be the best in Sheffield Wednesday's modern history, even if they brought two of the most heartbreaking 'what if' stories.

The Portuguese manager will always be remembered fondly at Hillsborough, especially now with the club still trying to recover from the mismanagement of owner Chansiri, a decade on from Carvalhal's appointment.

Given Carvalhal's unemployment leading up to his appointment at Hillsborough, eyebrows were understandably raised at the time. However, he went on to become the only man who has had Wednesday firing on all cylinders in the last decade, and it's the closest they've come to ending their Premier League wait.