The only thing missing from Dimas Teixeira's glittering playing CV was a spell in England which he always dreamed of and he is now fulfilling that dream at Barnsley as assistant head coach.
Jose Morais' right-hand man is a former left-back like the Reds' previous coaching team Paul Heckingbottom and Jamie Clapham, but played at a much higher level for Benfica and Juventus, with whom he won several league titles and was with the Italian giants when they reached two Champions League finals.
South African-born Dimas won 44 caps for Portugal, impressing in Euro 96 on these shores then starting the win over England in Euro 2000 in which Portugal reached the semi-final. The 49-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on the day he joined the club, says that Euro 96 was followed by a series of offers to play in England, which would almost certainly have seem him take on his current employers in the 1997/98 Premiership.
Dimas told the Chronicle: "In a five- or six-year period I came close to going to England, especially after Euro 96. That period of 96 was a good period for my football career and there was some interest from England. There were a few chances but Juventus came in and that was obviously a priority because of the club they were at the time."
He added: "I never had the opportunity of realising my dream of playing in England. It is always, for me, the best country where football is promoted in the best way."
Dimas played alongside the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Filippo Inzaghi, Edgar Davids, Didier Deschamps, Rui Costa, Luis Figo and Franck Leboeuf. Head coach Jose Morais believes that pedigree will impress and inspire the Reds players.
Dimas said: "Most of the players weren't born when I was at that level. It is good that they understand that I can help them by having a lot of experience in football over 30 years. My time at Juventus was my favourite because we won everything that we could. That is the message I want to bring to the players because winning is the most important thing.
"My career as a footballer was what it was and I am grateful, but it is in the past and now I want to be successful as a coach."
Dimas, like Morais, has previously attended Oakwell for a Portugal under 21s game. He said: "It's a small world because never at that time did I think I would be working here. It's a club with great history, a humble town with hard workers in it. The club needs to be in a better position than we are in at the moment."
Dimas is confident that his compatriot will keep the Reds up. He said: "I have known Jose for many years and we have been working together for 18 months. He is a coach I have been following and I believe in his work. We have found the ideal project at Barnsley. He has a positive mentality and believes it is possible to do anything. I believe in his organisation and model of the game.
"It is a big opportunity for us, obviously a difficult one but in life nothing is easy. We will try to get the squad to accept our ideas as soon as possible, but it takes time. The boys are getting to know us and it has been a bit hectic but they have been fantastic.
"We love the team, it is a solid team with very positive things and they know that. Every day we will work harder and harder to get them to believe in themselves.What myself and Jose have to do, especially Jose, is to make them feel like we have not been here for a week or two weeks but for many years and that we will go to the end of the world with them.
"The more I work with the players the more I believe that they can do much better than they have in the past. I am loving it at Barnsley. We will do our best to help Barnsley achieve their goal."
