JOSE MOURINHO has been appointed as Fenerbahce’s new manager.
The Special One will be unveiled to fans at the club’s stadium at 5pm today.
His appointment was confirmed by the club this morning, with Mourinho saying in a video message to his new supporters: “Merhaba [Hello] Fenerbahce fans. See you at Kadikoy and let’s start our journey together.”
The 61-year-old legend flew to Turkey after appearing as a pundit for TNT Sports, helping their coverage of last night’s Champions League final at Wembley.
Mourinho takes the reigns at Fenerbahce after he was sacked from Roma in January.
He has reportedly signed a deal that will run until 2026, with an option for a further season.
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Mourinho had been linked with a number of jobs – including a shock return to Manchester United – before taking the gig at the Istanbul based side.
They came second last season in the Turkish Super Lig under Ismail Kartal, ending with 99 points after losing just one game.
Their runners-up finish will see them enter the Champions League in the qualifying rounds.
Fenerbahce were beaten to top spot by Galatasaray, who scored 102 points, prompting one fan to stab a sign of the Yellow Canaries president Ali Koc with a knife.
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Ex-Prem stars at Fenerbahce
JOSE MOURINHO will have a whole host of familiar faces in his dressing room when he takes over at Fenerbahce.
There are no fewer than SIX players in the Turkish giants’ squad who previously played in the Premier League.
They are:
- EDIN DZEKO Fenerbahce’s club captain was at Man City from 2011 to 2016, scoring 72 goals in 189 appearances, including the dramatic equaliser before THAT Sergio Aguero winner vs QPR
- MICHY BATSHUAYI Belgian forward arrived to much fanfare at Chelsea in 2016 but five loans in six years, two of them to Crystal Palace, showed it didn’t quite work
- FRED Man Utd spent £52m on the Brazilian holding midfielder who formed half of the underwhelming ‘McFred’ partnership and won just the League Cup in five years at Old Trafford
- DUSAN TADIC Serbian forward enjoyed four seasons at Southampton before returning to the Eredivisie with Ajax, reaching the Champions League semi-finals
- RYAN KENT Technically didn’t play in the Premier League but made one FA Cup appearance for boyhood club Liverpool then left for Rangers in 2019
- CENGIZ UNDER A disappointing season on loan at Leicester in 2020-21 from Roma, scoring two goals in 19 appearances for the Foxes who did not trigger their option to buy the Turkish winger.
Mourinho’s move will see the ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid boss reunite with former Manchester United midfielder Fred.
The 31-year-old scored three goals and added eight assists in all competitions for the team last year.
Other former Premier League players at his disposal include ex-Chelsea star Michy Batshuayi, Southampton icon Dusan Tadic, ex-Leicester duo Caglar Soyuncu and Cengiz Under as well as Manchester City cult hero Edin Dzeko.
Former Rangers star Ryan Kent and Croatia international Dominik Livakovic are also a part of the current squad.
Fenerbahce are no strangers to wild antics, which could make Mourinho’s appointment a match made in heaven.
Back in March, their players were attacked by Trabzonspor supporters who charged the pitch at full-time.
Batshuayi fought one off with a karate kick as team-mate Bright Osayi-Samuel punched another.
Fenerbahce have long complained there is a campaign against them and claim referees are against them.
And the Trabzonspor incident restarted a war they have with the Turkish Football Federation.
Fenerbahce have since been demanding change at the Turkish FA and have threatened to pull out of the Super Lig.
The saga even saw them field their Under-19s team against Galatasaray in the domestic Cup final in protest.
Gala striker Mauro Icardi scored one minute into the game and straight after the goal, all of the Fenerbahce players walked off the pitch and refused to continue.
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A 3-0 win was awarded to Galatasaray.
Fenerbahce are one of the biggest clubs in Turkey and claims suggest they are supported by as much as 32 per cent of all fans in the country.
Inside the mad Fenerbahce world Jose Mourinho is entering
Jose Mourinho has returned to football management by stepping into the Fenerbahce pressure cooker.
Decked out in the club’s trademark yellow and black stripes, the club’s supporters boast a distinctive look that can be seen all around Turkey.
In March, following a last-gasp 3-2 win at rivals Trabzonspor, home fans ran onto the pitch, some even wielding weapons, to attempt to attack Fener stars.
Mourinho’s predecessor Ismail Kartal pondered after the match: “Why do these events happen when we are victorious here? I don’t understand these.”
Meanwhile, the “derby of immense and never-ending hate” with Galatasaray has it’s own flavour of intensity.
In 2012, things reached a boiling point when Galatasaray won the league at Fenerbahce courtesy of a 0-0 draw.
Police, armed with pepper spray, used riot shields to attempt to protect Galatasaray’s players from furious Fenerbahce fans storming the pitch.
Chairs were hurled towards opposition players, while more supporters whacked cop cars with stones outside the stadium.
READ MORE ABOUT FENERBAHCE’S MAD WORLD HERE.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
