Fenerbahçe’s new coach Jose Mourinho was given a spectacular welcome at a ceremony held yesterday at the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium in Istanbul to mark the signing of a contract that will tie the Portuguese coach to the Turkish club for the next two years for around €10 million per season excluding bonuses, while his assistants will be paid €2 million. In total Mourinho and his coaching staff will earn 46 million gross over two years.
‘This signing is a sign of the path we want to follow,’ said Fenerbahçe president Ali Koç, who has led efforts to secure the services of the Portuguese coach, describing him as ‘one of the five best coaches of all time’, according to Turkish media reports.
For his part, Mourinho delivered an emotional speech that was interrupted on several occasions by applause and chants from the fans: ‘I promise you that, from this moment on, I am part of your family. This shirt is my skin. Football is passion,’ he said before being stopped by cheers from the crowd. ‘I want to work to improve Turkish football and the Turkish league… But the most important thing for me is not Turkish football or the Turkish league, but Fenerbahçe,’ said Mourinho, who concluded his speech by stressing that ‘your dreams are also my dreams’.
Mourinho, who arrived at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport yesterday evening by private jet, faces the difficult task of leading a Fenerbahçe that has fallen just short of becoming league champion after losing just one game in all season. He is undoubtedly Ali Koç’s big gamble as he seeks to end Fenerbahçe’s 10-year drought without a league title.
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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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