Carlos Carvalhal on toilet paper
After a prison wrangle at Besiktas, the Portuguese manager had the Owls flying high – then trapped a Formula 1 car in Swansea
How special were your two years in charge of Sheffield Wednesday?
Our idea was to do things differently, to avoid the typical English style and break away from the past. In the beginning we struggled a bit, playing more long balls than we wished that led to negative results. Eventually, the players absorbed what we wanted. We reached the Championship play- off final in the first season [ 2015- 16] and then finished fourth. We had full control of the club. Not even a roll of toilet paper was purchased without my knowledge.
Those were Wednesday’s highest finishes since 2000. What was the key?
I used to say that we had a team of shorties. We went after players that everyone ignored.
Barry Bannan was one – no one cared about him, but he became one of the league’s best midfielders. We also brought in Alex Lopez on loan from Celta Vigo, Fernando Forestieri who wasn’t getting games with Watford, and Gary Hooper who we rescued from Norwich. None of them were physically strong but our game was based more on their technical ability, so it was the perfect marriage.
How surprised were you when Wednesday fans travelled to watch your Rio Ave team play last season, before you returned for a second spell with hometown club Braga in July 2020?
I’m an Owl forever, and those are the sort of situations I’ll carry with me for the rest of my
life. I saw them at matches a couple of times last season and was pleased to meet them – after all, no one visits a person they don’t like.
Do you think they miss you?
I think so, but that’s a reciprocal feeling. I’ve said that I’d like to go back in the future, but I’m currently employed. My intuition tells me it will happen one day, though.
You weren’t a free agent for very long after leaving Hillsborough in 2017...
Practically 48 hours! I went through the awful experience of being sacked on Christmas Eve – my family had travelled to spend it with me. On Christmas Day, I got a call from another Championship side. Then on Boxing Day, my phone rang again and the Swansea chairman invited me over for a meeting. After that, it all happened very fast. Since I’d already packed my things to return to Portugal, I only had to put my bags in the car and drive to Swansea. It was early in the morning when we arrived, but I went straight to their headquarters and oversaw training before signing the contract.
You’re known for using unusual analogies. Where do they come from?
It’s natural to me. The Portuguese language is so rich, creative and full of proverbs – they make life easier, otherwise I’d have to spend 10 minutes explaining a situation! I just try to find a way of making them understandable in English, hoping people will be smart enough to work out their meaning.
Which was your favourite?
The metaphor after Swansea beat Liverpool. I spoke to my players about it as we prepared, and they got the message from the very start. Liverpool are such a strong side, especially in the attacking transition. Their three forwards upfront are fantastic, but I warned my team that we couldn’t let them have the highway free. Liverpool may be a Formula 1 car, but if you put them in London traffic, they won’t go anywhere – they’d have to play at our speed. We were one of only five teams to beat them in the league [ in 2017- 18].
FFT enjoyed an eccentric press conference you did at Sheffield Wednesday, where you produced a £ 20 note and then attacked it...
[ Smiles] It was a moment when people were questioning the value of the players – unfairly in my opinion. What I was trying to prove was that no matter how much you criticised them or ran them down, they’d already shown their value. I had that £ 20 note and demonstrated that even if you crumpled it, its value stayed the same. Likewise, my players had the same value, regardless of being attacked. I had to stand by my team.
You’d previously worked at Besiktas. What was that like?
Intense. I took over after their manager was put behind bars following a corruption case. I accepted their invitation on one condition: as soon as the coach came out of prison, I’d step aside. Besiktas are a giant club, I wanted to manage in Turkey and I couldn’t turn down the opportunity. Ultimately, their coach was released from jail sooner than they thought, in December, and was willing to reassume his post. I’d given my word, so it was no problem.
You remained in charge until April, though?
The team were in great form and became the first Turkish club to top their Europa League group. When the last 32 draw came out, who do we get? Braga! The fans were chanting my name and pushing for me to stay on. At that point, Besiktas’ president started working at the Turkish FA and left me with five months of wages unpaid. I was also completely on my own – I was working with the backroom staff of the coach who’d left jail and become the new sporting director. Nearly all of them only spoke Turkish, which was a strange language to me, and were loyal to the sporting director, who still wanted to be the coach. I handled the situation for a while. We beat Braga, but lost to eventual winners Atletico Madrid and then the inevitable happened – a new board took charge of the club and the director got his coaching role back.
Was that your toughest managerial role?
My previous work with Sporting had already been terribly hard, but Besiktas was 10 times worse. After those experiences, I told myself I was ready to work in Syria, Iraq... anywhere.
You studied for your UEFA Pro Licence with Jose Mourinho – are you good pals?
We shared a classroom for four weeks. Back then, he was in charge of Porto and I was at Leixoes, a nearby club, so he watched some of our games and we developed a friendship.
Before returning to Braga, you were linked with Red Bull Bragantino in Brazil. Did you consider moving to South America?
I met with them and reached an agreement. After that, I waited five days to hear back and started wondering – like if you’re attracted to a beautiful woman, but then you weigh it up and ask yourself if you should leave your wife. At Rio Ave, we were set to equal an unbeaten record that had stood since the 1980s, when they were coached by Felix Mourinho, Jose’s father. So I told Red Bull that I wouldn’t end that marriage. Before Rio Ave, I had enquiries from three Championship teams. I was really excited about one, but I spoke to the club and was left extremely disappointed. The project had zero ambition, and was somehow about selling players. I still have unfinished business in England – in the future, I’d like to finish it.