José Mourinho is now officially the coach of Fenerbahce. His introduction was not lacking in pathos
On Saturday evening, Mourinho had already announced in a short video that he would become Fenerbahce coach. Less than 24 hours later, tens of thousands of fans packed the Turkish runners-up’s Ülker Stadium to witness the Portuguese’s arrival. A performance that is normally only given to players who are on the pitch rather than on the sidelines. Not so for “The Special One”.
Shortly after 7pm local time, Mourinho entered the pitch with Fenerbahce president Ali Koc via a blue carpet, made his way to a podium and signed a contract that, according to media reports, will run until 2026. Meanwhile, the fans set off pyrotechnics and celebrated Mourinho with chants. One fan stormed onto the podium to throw his arms around Mourinho’s neck. He reacted calmly and posed for a photo together
Koc described Mourinho as “one of the best five coaches in history” and called it a “historic day for our club”. The coach’s introduction had already been extremely extravagant. Fenerbahce posted photos of Mourinho looking down on the Ülker Stadium from the plane on their social media channels. This was later followed by pictures of him landing at the airport and a photo of the 61-year-old on a boat with the Turkish flag in the background.
In his introduction, Mourinho continued to use pathos: “This is a big responsibility, I’m part of the family from now on,” said Mourinho to thunderous applause from the fans. Normally a coach is only celebrated and loved after victories, but “in this case I feel the love before the victories”, Mourinho explained. “This jersey is my skin,” he continued, waving an away jersey. “Your dreams are now my dreams.”
Mourinho succeeds Ismail Kartal in Istanbul, whose contract expires on June 30. Under Kartal, Fenerbahce collected an impressive 99 points last season, which was only enough for second place behind city rivals Galatasaray (102 points). Koc announced: “This signing today is a harbinger of the level we want to take Fenerbahce to. “
