WAG TO RICHES
German gaffer David steers his unfancied Terriers to £170m jackpot and place in top flight
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DAVID WAGNER hailed his Huddersfield players as “legends” after they won their £170million shoot-out to reach the Premier League.
Wagner claims they have written their names alongside greats such as Herbert Chapman, Bill Shankly and Denis Law by ending the unfancied club’s 45-year exile from the top flight.
The Terriers were tipped for relegation at the start of the season but sealed promotion at Wembley thanks to a nailbiting play-off final penalty success over Reading.
And boss Wagner said: “I said to them before the Final, ‘You have the opportunity to become legends’. Now they are legends for sure.
“Everybody will remember these players and what they have done on our small budget. They deserve everything.
“This club has written an unbelievable story, a fairytale. I can’t believe it when you see where we started. I need a few weeks to get my head around it because now I don’t really feel how great this is.”
Christopher Schindler scored the winning penalty after former Aberdeen loan star Danny Ward had saved from Jordan Obita and Wagner was shocked to see his fellow German step forward.
“When Schindy said he would take the fifth penalty I was surprised,” he said. “I thought Kasey Palmer would take it but he was totally confident and scored.
“People said when I came that I had no experience of England, no experience of the Championship, no experience of the play-offs, but when you have passion and desire you can have a fairytale ending.”
Chairman and owner Dean Hoyle was in tears after Schindler scored and said: “I’m so emotional. I’ve been supporting this club since 1969 so to be a Premier League team shows dreams come true.
“It proves you don’t have to blow your brains to get promoted. We’ve done it the right way.”
Wagner, who was Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s best man and reserve team coach at Dortmund, will now lock horns with his old chum in the top flight next season.
And one of the first calls he will have to make is to ask Klopp if he can borrow Reds keeper Ward for another season.
In the shoot-out it came down to sudden death when Ward – who saved two penalties in the semis at Sheffield Wednesday – plunged low to thwart Obita.
Schindler did the rest and Wagner’s side completed their remarkable story.
Huddersfield still plant three gold stars above the club crest on their shirts as a reminder of consecutive titles under Chapman going back more than 90 years.
The Terriers also groomed Scots legends Shankly and Law before they went on to become heroes at Liverpool and Manchester United.
But Huddersfield, who last played in the top flight in 1971-72, don’t need to live in the past now.
They will have to add firepower up front but are nobody’s mugs.
The Terriers should have won in normal time with Michael Hefele heading wide before Izzy Brown missed an open goal.
It was a German, Hefele, who surprisingly suffered the first shoot-out blip, Ali Al Habsi beating out his weak effort.
But Reading’s Liam Moore then blazed over, a throwback to manager Jaap Stam’s spot-pkick into orbit when Holland lost st to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2000 semi.
And when Wardd guessed correctly to o deny Obita, Schindler r settled all arguments.s.
Hefele was the e most relieved man at t Wembley and he said: “Such a small club is now in the best league in the world – it’s crazy.”