Carlos Carvalhal

On 18 May 2018, after the club's relegation, Carvalhal left Swansea. He returned to Portugal one year later, being named Rio Ave FC's coach.

In May 2017, after leading Wednesday to a fourth-place league finish, Carvalhal became the first Portuguese to win the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award. He subsequently coached them to the play-offs, where they were defeated by Huddersfield Town on penalties.

On 24 December 2017, as the side ranked in the lower half of the table, Carvalhal left by mutual consent. Four days later, he moved to the Premier League with Swansea City following the sacking of Paul Clement the previous week. His first game in charge took place late in the month, and he led his team to a 2–1 away win over Watford, led by compatriot Marco Silva; after two consecutive league home wins against Liverpool (1–0) and Arsenal (3–1), he was nominated for his first Premier League Manager of the Month award for the month of January.

On 30 June 2015, after nearly three years of inactivity, Carvalhal was appointed head coach of English Championship club Sheffield Wednesday. He led the team to sixth position in his debut campaign and, subsequently, qualified them for the play-offs, ultimately losing in the play-off final at Wembley. Another notable achievement in his first season in England was ousting Arsenal in the fourth round of the Football League Cup, with a 3–0 victory.

Carvalhal attended university alongside fellow coach Rui Faria, and studied for his UEFA Pro Licence alongside José Mourinho. He also authored the book Soccer: Developing a Know-How (2014), in which he discussed his own coaching philosophy.

Immediately afterwards, Carvalhal joined FC Porto, but was released after only one year, going on to represent in the following nine seasons – until his retirement at the age of 32 – S.C. Beira-Mar, Braga, F.C. Tirsense, G.D. Chaves and S.C. Espinho. In the top level, he amassed totals of 197 matches and one goal.

As originally intended, Carvalhal left his post at the end of the season, with Sporting finishing in fourth position, 28 points behind champions S.L. Benfica. On 2 August 2011, he was appointed caretaker manager in Beşiktaş J.K. of Turkey, as incumbent Tayfur Havutçu resolved his legal issues stemming from the 2011 Turkish sports corruption scandal.

After a few weeks in Greece, Carvalhal returned to Portugal and joined C.S. Marítimo, only winning one match in 11 but with the Madeira side finishing comfortably in mid-table. He was sacked late into the year 2009, moving to Sporting in mid-November to replace fired Paulo Bento.

Returning to Setúbal for 2007–08, Carvalhal enjoyed his best year as a manager. He led the Sadinos to the sixth position in the league – with the subsequent UEFA Cup qualification and with the team posting one of the best defensive records in Europe that year – and victory in the inaugural edition of the Taça da Liga, against Sporting CP.

Carvalhal was sacked by Belenenses early into 2005–06, after five defeats in eight games. He met the same fate with the two teams he coached in the following season, Braga and S.C. Beira-Mar. With the latter, he was dismissed in December 2006 after the Aveiro club signed a cooperation deal with Inverfutbol, a Spanish-based sporting company, in a relegation-ending campaign.

Carvalhal began managing at his last club Espinho, in the Segunda Liga, being dismissed early into his second year. In 2002, he became the first coach in the country to take a team in the third division to the UEFA Cup, after leading Leixões S.C. to the final of the Taça de Portugal; two years later he helped Vitória F.C. back to the top flight, which prompted his move to a side in that tier, C.F. Os Belenenses.

Born in Braga, Carvalhal represented mainly hometown's S.C. Braga during his career. In the 1987–88 campaign, in one of his three spells at the club, he had one of his best years in the Primeira Liga, appearing in 34 games and only being booked seven times, even though the Minho team could only finish in 11th position.

Carlos Augusto Soares da Costa Faria Carvalhal (Portuguese pronunciation:  [ˈkaɾ.luʃ kɐɾ.vɐ.ˈʎaɫ] ; born 4 December 1965) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a centre back, and the current manager of Rio Ave FC.