The Portuguese tactician has endured a turbulent start to life in Turkey, and Thursday's meeting with the Red Devils could bring more misery
“That culture makes it fun,” Jose Mourinho said after receiving a rapturous welcome from around 30,000 feral Fenerbahce fans at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in June. “It’s for the president, the directors, the board to be stable and to be balanced, but not the fans. They have to be crazy. They have to be demanding, to put pressure on us. That passion is part of my motivation.”
Mourinho used that "passion" as fuel during his previous spells at Roma, Chelsea, Inter and Porto. He tends to pick clubs with fanatical supporters who are capable of being 'the 12th man' for his team and goes to great lengths to connect with them; in this case, calling Fenerbahce's jersey "my skin".
But the truth is, he didn't have many options left after being sacked by Roma in January. Long gone are the days when Mourinho was considered the best manager in the world. Most of Europe's top clubs won't even go near him anymore, fearing a repeat of the toxic atmosphere he's generated in more recent roles.
Fenerbahce chose to ignore the obvious signs of decline because of the weight Mourinho's name still holds, but the honeymoon period has barely lasted three months. The Mourinho circus is engulfing the club already, and Erik ten Hag's Manchester United will certainly have nothing to fear when they come up against their former boss in the Europa League on Thursday.
Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyChampions League failure
Mourinho vowed to "bring eyes to Turkish football" at his first press conference, and highlighted Super Lig title success as "the main dream". But the Champions League was his first order of business, as Fenerbahce made it to the third qualifying round after an unconvincing 6-4 aggregate victory over unfancied Swiss outfit Lugano, only to come unstuck against Lille, who finished 17 points behind Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain last season.
The two teams were locked at 2-2 at the end of the two legs, and Lille went down to 10 men in the first half of extra-time, but Fener conceded a penalty just two minutes before the final whistle, which Jonathan David converted to send Mourinho's side crashing out. This was a huge opportunity for Fenerbahce to return to the Champions League proper after a 15-year absence, and they probably would have been able to edge past a decidedly average Lille side had it not been for Mourinho's overly-defensive tactics.
But in trademark style, the 61-year-old took zero responsibility, instead blaming VAR for the penalty that decided the tie while repeating the infamous "I prefer not to speak" line that saw him become a meme during his second spell at Chelsea. Mourinho also attempted to downplay the significance of the result, adding: "It would be great to play in Champions League, but we would never have a chance to go far in the competition. The Europa League is more adapted to our level."
AdvertisementAFP'Too naive or too poetic'
Mourinho can speak so candidly because he knows that he won't be judged on Fenerbahce's exploits in Europe. He was hired to finally end the club's 10-year wait for the Super Lig crown.
Last season, Fener finished just three points behind champions Galatasaray, who clinched their third-successive title. Mourinho's experience as a serial winner was seen as the final piece in the puzzle for Fenerbahce to dethrone their arch-rivals, and he started well enough, delivering a 1-0 home win over Adana Demirspor on the opening weekend.
The first alarm bells rang the following week, though, as Mourinho's men were held to a 2-2 draw away at newly-promoted Goztepe after blowing a two-goal half-time lead.
"Too naive or too poetic, in a league that is not poetic," Mourinho said when asked to explain how his side let the win slip away. “The anti-football, in some other countries they call it being clever, I think they [Fener players] have to be clever too. My players have to do what other teams do to us. They need to take time. They need to go on the floor. They need to stop the game. They need to simulate injuries. They need to do what every team does.”
What kind of message is that?! Fenerbahce are not short on firepower; Edin Dzeko, Allan Saint-Maximin, Youssef En-Nesyri and Dusan Tadic all started against Goztepe. It's completely irrational and unreasonable for Mourinho to expect these players to rein in their instincts against an inferior opponent.
Embracing "anti-football" is necessary in some games to get over the line, but this wasn't one of them, and Mourinho risked alienating a large section of the dressing room with his childish post-match comments.
Getty Images SportMisleading rosy period
Fenerbahce appeared to ignore Mourinho's calls for caution in their next outing at Rizespor, romping to a 5-0 victory, with former United midfielder Fred notching the first hat-trick of his career. The visitors still lacked fluidity in possession, but were far more direct and carved through the Rizespor defence at will.
"Rizespor is a quality team," Mourinho insisted after the final whistle. "We made it look like they aren't." Confidence-building ploy or not, that was a ridiculous claim, given Rizespor finished ninth in the Super Lig in 2023-24.
Still, five more goals and another pair of clean sheets followed in comfortable wins over Alanyaspor and Kasimpasa, which put Fener within sight of the Super Lig summit. Everything was looking rosy for Mourinho heading into the first international break of the season, and he was able to block out criticism from those still questioning his pragmatic style of play.
"If I believed everything I hear, I would have already packed up my things and left," Mourinho told Turkish channel . "I left Portugal 20 years ago and in every country I've managed to learn for myself, adapt and win titles. I'm going to try the same here. If I stay for two years and don't win the league, then I'll explain why."
It will, though, be a huge surprise if Mourinho is still managing Fenerbahce in two years. There is always a crisis lurking around the corner with the prickly Portuguese, and his first Istanbul derby would prove to be the perfect excuse for another vintage meltdown.
Getty/X (@GalatasaraySK)'The Crying One'
Fenerbahce relinquished their unbeaten Super Lig record on September 21, as Galatasaray ran out 3-1 winners in front of a despondent Sukru Saracoglu Stadium crowd. In the mixed zone, Mourinho claimed his team "dominated" the game and "risked everything" to get back into it after falling two goals behind, but the truth is, Galatasaray won without ever needing to get out of second gear, and Fener looked toothless.
Mourinho never turned up for his post-match press conference, and later accused Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk of "disrespecting" him by making him wait for "70 minutes". This was Mourinho in sore loser mode, and it came as a great source of amusement to Galatasaray, who Photoshopped a book cover titled "The Crying One" next to an image of a downbeat Mourinho on social media, with the caption: "On sale in stores around Kadikoy."
Mauro Icardi couldn't resist aiming a dig at Mourinho either, as the Galatasaray striker posted a photo of Buruk smiling in Mourinho's direction on the touchline and tagged his manager as "the special coach". To make matters even worse, Mourinho was fined €4,000 for neglecting his media duties.
Mourinho brings all this controversy and ridicule onto himself. He hasn't matured with age; he's just become more and more bitter, to the point where football takes a back seat to his monumental ego. When he was the master of delivering results in the biggest matches, that could be forgiven, but now it's just sad.
