Former Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal has admitted that he is looking forward to returning ‘home’ when he takes his Swansea City side to Hillsborough in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup this afternoon.
The 52-year-old Portuguese coach left Wednesday by mutual consent on Christmas Eve following a poor first half of the season.
Carvalhal was soon back in management with English Premier League club Swansea City unveiling the former Maritimo, Sporting Lisbon and Besiktas coach as their new manager just four days after he had left Hillsborough.
This afternoon, Carvalhal makes an emotional return to South Yorkshire for the first time since his departure and the Portuguese boss has told Sky Sports sources that he is looking forward to returning to the place which he calls home.
“It will be a home forever, I’m absolutely sure” Carvalhal told Sky Sports when discussing his return to Hillsborough. “We were there for two-and-a-half years and after the second season where we achieved the play-off semi-finals, we had the third best winning points in 150 years of history at the club.
“In the last 50 years, we had the best rating at the club – we achieved one play-off final, one semi-final and the moments we lived at that club was unbelievable.
“I am very happy to go back to Hillsborough because I’m feeling like I’m going back home because I left just two months ago.”
Carvalhal has won six of his 11 matches in charge of new club Swansea City to date and victory over former club Sheffield Wednesday would see him guide The Swans into the FA Cup quarter-finals. Carvalhal’s two-and-a-half year spell with Wednesday saw him achieve an above-average win percentage of 42.7%.
The former Owls boss was popular with the fans during most of his stay in South Yorkshire and Carvalhal is likely to be welcomed back to Hillsborough by many this afternoon.
