Fenerbahce has already found a replacement for Jose Mourinho, with the Turkish club’s board already considering terminating his two-year contract in exchange for financial compensation after the Portuguese coach lost the confidence of the board led by Turkish businessman Ali Koç and the fans, once he left the team out of the Turkish Cup and without the league title, which was won for the third year by Galatasaray.
Mourinho arrived in Istanbul a year ago, where he was given a hero’s welcome, promising to improve the team’s performance and bring titles to a club that has gone more than a decade without becoming league champion. However, the enormous expectations that the Portuguese coach generated did not take long to vanish like smoke: the early elimination in the Ziraat Cup was compounded by harsh criticism of the team’s play from the fans, whom Mourinho did not hesitate to confront on social networks.
The Portuguese, known for his harsh character, ended up generating more headlines in the Turkish press for his controversial statements – including repeated criticism of Turkish football – and even for some attempted attacks on the pitch, than for the good play of Fenerbahçe or for winning titles… Which in the end did not come, neither in Turkey nor in Europe.
Now, numerous Turkish media have reported in the last few hours that the Yellow Canaries are seriously considering breaking their contract with Mourinho, signed for two years; although the main obstacle to this end is the 15 million euros that the Istanbul club would have to pay the Portuguese, the fact is that the board has completely lost confidence in Mourinho, and is already looking very seriously for a replacement for him.
Koç’s board is looking for a local coach with knowledge of the Turkish league
Koç and his board seem to be clear that Mourinho’s replacement must be a Turk: it is a fact – and experience has shown it – that foreign coaches do not know the Turkish football league well enough and that no coach from outside Turkey has managed to make his team champion in recent years, with the only exception of Zico, who gave Fener a league title in 2007.
Against this backdrop and after what the club’s board and fans consider a disappointment with Mourinho, Fenerbahçe has already contacted several possible candidates to manage the team; but of all of them, the one who is undoubtedly the strongest right now is İsmail Kartal.
The Turkish coach, who currently coaches Persepolis in Iran’s professional league, has coached Fenerbahçe on several occasions since joining the club for first time in 2014; the paradox, however, is that Mourinho arrived in June last year precisely to replace Kartal, whose contract was terminated after the team also fell just short of the league title last season.
For now, it is unclear what İsmail Kartal might say to this offer, but Fenerbaçe’s decision to say goodbye to Mourinho seems to have been made, and the board chaired by Koç is clear about two things right now: that the replacement has to be someone from Turkey who knows the Süper Lig well, and that the team must become league champion next season… Or Koç himself will have to leave and make way for his main rival, former Fenerbahçe’s president Aziz Yıldırım.
Mourinho has not yet commented on the likely end of his ‘Turkish dream’ at Fenerbahçe, but he has categorically denied rumours of a possible return to Italy: “The news that Inter want to sign me is not true, it’s a big lie. There has been no contact at all“, the Portuguese has assured.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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