{"id":681323,"date":"2026-01-08T03:16:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T03:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/681323\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T03:16:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T03:16:30","slug":"belong-to-the-elite-carvalhal-reflects-on-sheffield-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/681323\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBelong to the elite\u201d \u2013 Carvalhal reflects on Sheffield Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sheffield Wednesday continue to stand out when Carlos Carvalhal reflects on his time in English football.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Portuguese outlet S\u00e1bado<\/strong><\/a>, the manager spoke at length about his spell at Hillsborough and explained why the Championship remains one of the most demanding stages of his career.<\/p>\n

Life inside the Championship grind<\/p>\n

Carvalhal, who has repeatedly shared his love for Sheffield Wednesday<\/a>, described the Championship as relentless from the first day. \u201cIt is a competition with 22 teams and a huge number of matches,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I went to Sheffield Wednesday, I did the pre-season and started playing at the beginning of August. That month alone, we played eight matches. We were always playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the coach, there is no margin for comfort in the division. \u201cAll the opponents are extremely competitive,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe team at the bottom can beat the one at the top very easily.\u201d As a result, every match demands full focus and constant preparation.<\/p>\n

That environment forced him to grow as a manager. \u201cIt is a job of permanent competition, and that is where I learned even more about how to finish games,\u201d Carvalhal said.<\/p>\n

Recovery time is minimal. \u201cNormally, I am extremely tired after matches, and I go straight from one game to already being on the iPad or computer analysing the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

From rangers to super-heroes
\n\"Sheffield<\/a>Sheffield Wednesday spell brought up by Carlos Carvalhal during Sabado interview<\/p>\n

Asked whether the Championship is \u201cfor rangers\u201d and the Premier League \u201cfor super-heroes\u201d, Carvalhal reframed the idea. \u201cIt is for great coaches,\u201d he said. \u201cThere we played matches against J\u00fcrgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Jos\u00e9 Mourinho, Ars\u00e8ne Wenger and Rafa Ben\u00edtez. We won several games against those coaches. That makes us feel we belong to the elite.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Carvalhal made clear that context matters. He said he works best in clubs with clear structures. \u201cI work much better when I have sporting directors,\u201d he explained. \u201cI have a lot of difficulty dealing with presidents who run the football side.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was direct about his personality. \u201cI do not have a political side,\u201d Carvalhal said. \u201cI do not accept interference, and I do not know how to communicate when there is interference. When people try to impose things on me, my reaction is not political. It is even a bit rough.\u201d<\/p>\n

English football culture and lasting impact<\/p>\n

Carvalhal also spoke about life after matches in England. \u201cThere is a well-known tradition of having a drink,\u201d he said. \u201cI had fantastic experiences with the vast majority of coaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some moments stayed with him. Guardiola, he recalled, had to catch a flight, so they could not meet. Mourinho, however, made a lasting gesture. \u201cHe gave me a bottle of Barca Velha,\u201d Carvalhal explained. \u201cHe told me that one day I would celebrate a big trophy with that bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n

That promise lingered. \u201cI had been to a League Cup final and did not open it before,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to drink it before. It was for luck, not for celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond results, Carvalhal also recalled the post-match traditions and the closeness between managers and officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were situations at Sheffield Wednesday where I was with the opposing coach, the referee passed by and I said, \u2018Come here and have a beer!\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThe referee and assistants would be there, having a beer and talking about the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The intensity of the Championship, the proximity to promotion and the cultural connection all combine to keep that period alive in the memory of supporters. As a result, it remains one of the defining chapters whenever Carvalhal\u2019s career is discussed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sheffield Wednesday continue to stand out when Carlos Carvalhal reflects on his time in English football. In an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8817],"tags":[748,393,4884,1620,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-681323","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sheffield","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-sheffield","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115857312048327773","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}