Carvalhal has been a fan-favourite at Hillsborough this season, who have seen the attractive brand of football the former Sporting manager brought to the Steel City leading Wednesday into the Championship play-offs - a target he conceded at the start of the season was probably not within the club's reach due to the strength of rival clubs in what is deemed the most competitive league in English football.


Sheffield Wednesday fans show their support for Portuguese manager Carlos Carvalhal at a pub near Wembley. (Photo: Tom Eades)

After beating Brighton over two legs earlier this month, victory for one of England's best supported clubs will see them return to top-flight football after an abscence of 16 years.

This is only four years after their away supporters were often the majority at games as they watched their team play in the third-tier of English football after financial turmoil saw the team struggle to hold on to their top players.

The value of victory to Sheffield Wednesday in Saturday's Championship play-off final is £170m or around €225m, according to experts at Deloitte's Sports Business Group, with this match billed as football's biggest cash prize for a single game of football and would set them up to reclaim a spot the held for much of the 20th century among the elite of English football.