Jose Mourinho has been appointed as the new manager of Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
The legendary Portuguese coach will manage in the fifth different country of his illustrious international career after agreeing a move to Istanbul.
Fenerbahce recently parted company with predecessor Ismail Kartal after they fell short to rivals Galatasaray in an extremely competitive Super Lig title race, with Fener accruing 99 points and suffering only one defeat but missing out due to Gala’s 102-point haul. It has now been a decade since Fenerbahce last won the title.
Mourinho has returned to management six months after being sacked by Roma, where he notably led them to glory in the inaugural campaign of the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022. He then guided them to last year’s Europa League final, where they were beaten by Sevilla on penalties, but a poor run of form which saw the Giallorossi drop to ninth in Serie A saw the club part ways with him in January.
Prior to that, Mourinho spent just over a season in charge of Tottenham Hotspur – the only club he claims he did not build a meaningful connection with, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic. He was also sacked days before they were due to face Manchester City in the 2021 Carabao Cup final.
Mourinho’s best days as a manager came in the 2000s and 2010s. He won the UEFA Cup and Champions League in back-to-back years with Porto in 2003 and 2004. Then an up-and-coming coach, Mourinho was poached by Chelsea, where he won two successive Premier League titles.
Inter won two Serie A titles and Italy’s first treble in 2010 under the management of Mourinho, who then joined Real Madrid to topple Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona side. A return to Chelsea in 2013 followed, winning the Blues another Premier League title in 2015, before being sacked and then signing for Manchester United. The Red Devils won three trophies with Mourinho in the dugout and their 81-point tally of the 2017/18 season is their highest in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
