WHILE manager of Galatasaray in 1996, Graeme Souness celebrated a cup final victory over Fenerbahce by planting his club’s flag in the centre circle of their bitter enemies’ home pitch.
Galatasaray versus Fenerbahce is one of the most ferocious rivalries in all of football.
And ferocious rivalries are the essence of all sport.
We invest far too much time and money in watching grown men play ball games for them not to rouse extreme passions. Even genuine hatred.
Souness never was a shrinking violet. His incendiary antics almost sparked a riot and are still remembered vividly in Istanbul 28 years later — with fondness by supporters of Galatasaray, with raging resentment by Fenerbahce fans.
The Scotsman only managed Galatasaray for one season but for a man who always understood football’s need for needle, the place had a lasting effect on him.
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Once out with a mate and his Turkish girlfriend, who was a Galatasaray fan, I messaged Souness.
He replied: “Tell her: ‘Cim-bom-bom’.”
This is Galatasaray’s nickname and their supporters’ most common chant. The message was gratefully received, two decades after he’d left the club.
Souness will never forget Istanbul, that vast, chaotic city, with its myriad mosques, its incessant traffic, its mania for football and the fear and loathing between the clubs who contest its premier derby.
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Which brings us to Jose Mourinho, who has taken over as manager of Fenerbahce on a two-year deal. Presumably because Fenerbahce know what always happens in Mourinho’s third season.
Some people are wondering why such a stellar name should find himself ‘slumming it’ in the Turkish Super Lig.
Many are wishing the Portuguese had filled one of this summer’s many Premier League vacancies.
And many more had hoped Mourinho would follow the path of the princely Souness by jacking in management to take up full-time residence in a TV studio.
Mourinho is God’s gift to punditry, as he proved on TNT Sports’ coverage of the Champions League final on Saturday.
We had plain-speaking Jose, monstering Vinicius Jr for diving.
We had waspish Jose, having a glorious dig at old foe Arsene Wenger, who — in his current role as a Fifa blazer — wants to change the offside law simply to make VAR look less ridiculous.
And we had rakish Jose posing for photos with Jude Bellingham’s mum after Real Madrid’s English Galactico told him she’d had a crush on the old rascal for years.
Sure, Mourinho can be dreadful — witness the appalling scenes in the car park when he confronted ref Anthony Taylor after his Roma side lost last year’s Europa League final.
But football needs villains, it demands characters, it thrives on the idea any publicity is good publicity.
Next season, England’s top flight will be dominated by earnest managers who lack either menace or hair. Pep Guardiola, Arne Slot, Enzo Maresca, perhaps Erik ten Hag.
A league of bald-headed men with trash-talking in short supply.
Mourinho made it clear he’d have accepted a Premier League job below his usual pay grade — West Ham or Brighton perhaps — but his come-and-get-me plea fell on deaf ears.
Tottenham felt beneath him when he accepted that gig five years ago.
And after being sacked by Spurs five days before a cup final, he became manager of Roma, where he reached two European finals, winning one.
As a manager, if not a pundit, Mourinho is out of fashion, his football too cautious. His former rival Guardiola won the stylistic argument of the age.
Next season, Arsenal and Chelsea will be managed by the Manchester City manager’s former assistants.
We will probably never see Guardiola at Spurs, Roma, Fenerbahce or any club outside of the European elite. And it’s a pity because that would be fascinating.
Sure, Mourinho can be dreadful. But football needs villains, it demands characters, it thrives on the idea any publicity is good publicity.
Dave Kidd
At Fenerbahce, Mourinho will take charge of Premier League old boys Edin Dzeko, Dusan Tadic, Michy Batshuayi and Manchester United flop Fred.
What might Guardiola achieve with that sort of squad? We will never know.
Guardiola would never rival Mourinho as a media figure and probably wouldn’t even want to.
The Portuguese is box-office gold not only for his dark charisma and his barbs. He is also deeply knowledgeable and an original thinker.
When I ghost-wrote his column for this newspaper during the last Euros, Mourinho gave brilliant insights — some of which even made it past his PR woman and into print.
Most people on Mourinho’s downward career trajectory would have settled for Easy Street in the media.
Souness made that move to great effect at a younger age than Mourinho’s current 61 years.
Mourinho recently acknowledged that he might never manage at the world’s greatest clubs again.
But he still can’t let it go. He craves competition. He invites jeopardy. He loves the smell of Napalm in the morning.
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He was made for Istanbul.
And when he first visits Galatasaray’s Ali Sami Yen Stadium, don’t be surprised if he plants a flag slap-bang in the middle of it.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
