The video announcing it on Saturday evening is eight seconds long: José Mourinho has a new job. And a big challenge at Fenerbahce Istanbul if you look at the final table for the 2023/24 season
Europe’s best runner-up since the turn of the millennium has a new coach. Even though rumors had already been growing, it is still a big headline: José Mourinho is the new Fenerbahce coach.
The Portuguese, now 61 years old, succeeds Ismail Kartal, whose contract expires on June 30. Mourinho is set to sign until 2026. It is his first job since January, when he was relieved of his duties as head coach at AS Roma.
On Saturday evening, he confirmed his commitment in an eight-second video message broadcast by Fener via X: “Let’s start our journey together.” The coach will be unveiled at Ülker Stadium on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Mourinho might be familiar with Fenerbahce’s current situation
Under predecessor Kartal, Fenerbahce collected an impressive 99 points (from 38 games) last season, but ended up “only” in second place behind arch-rivals Galatasaray (102 points). Playing such a good season again, knowing that there is such a strong rival, will undoubtedly be a challenge for Mourinho and his team, which currently features Dusan Tadic, Edin Dzeko and Michy Batshuayi.
Mourinho might find Fenerbahce’s current situation familiar, however. When he joined Real Madrid in 2010, 92 points in his first season behind Pep Guardiola’s FC Barcelona (96 points) was only enough for the runners-up spot. A year later, however, Mourinho’s Real collected 100 points – and the title.
This is “The Special One’s” eleventh stint as head coach at Fenerbahce. Although his greatest successes were several years ago with the Champions League title at FC Porto in 2004 and the treble with Inter Milan in 2010, the extroverted star coach managed to win the Conference League with Roma in 2022 and reach the Europa League final in 2023. Even if strong points hauls in the league failed to materialize
