“AT SHEFFIELD WEDn ESDAY, THEY DIDN ’T EVEN BUY A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE”

After a prison wrangle at Besiktas, the Portuguese manager had the Owls flying high – then trapped a Formula 1 car in Swansea

Interview Marcus Alves

TEAMS Espinho Freamunde Vizela Aves Leixoes Vitoria Setubal Belenenses Braga Beira-Mar Asteras Tripolis Maritimo Sporting Besiktas Istanbul Basaksehir Sheffield Wednesday Swansea Rio Ave

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.