“When people look at me – I coached in six European finals and won five of them – they straight away think big,” proclaimed José Mourinho upon his unveiling as the new Fenerbahçe manager at the start of June.
This was box office, even by Turkish Süper Lig standards, with the experienced Portuguese boss returning to the dugout just five months after being sacked by AS Roma.
Perhaps an enigmatic figure such as Mourinho was always likely to end up managing in Türkiye. Did Fenerbahçe need him though – as they came close to sealing their first league title in a decade last season under the leadership of İsmail Kartal.
Despite losing out to rivals Galatasaray by just three points, Fenerbahçe recorded 99 points, their highest ever league total, losing just once in the process.
While Kartal came agonisingly close to ending their league title drought, Fenerbahçe have won just one Turkish Cup (2023) since that 2013/14 Süper Lig success under Ersun Yanal.
Before Mourinho, 12 managers tried and failed to claim the biggest prize in the country, with figures such as Dick Advocaat, Vitor Pereira and Jorge Jesus failing to add to the club’s record haul of 28 domestic crowns.
Could this dry spell be coming to an end as Mourinho aims to usher in a new era at Şükrü Saracoğlu?
A busy summer
Mourinho’s relevance in the modern game is slowly diminishing, yet the wily old fox is still capable of producing the odd flash of magic.
There is no doubting his spell with AS Roma became stale towards the end, but the 61-year-old did lead the club to the Europa Conference League title in 2022, ending an 11-year trophy drought in the process.
He arrives at Fenerbahçe with the club in a similar position. One Turkish Cup since 2014 is a dismal record for the club, as Mourinho looks to remedy this.
Inheriting a core group of players which included Fred, Edin Džeko and Dušan Tadić, the former Chelsea supremo added to his squad during the transfer window.
In came Youssef En-Nesyri – who joined for a club-record fee of €19.5m – Çağlar Söyüncü and Allan Saint-Maxim, while Filip Kostić and Sofyan Amrabat joined on loan from Juventus and Fiorentina respectively, clearly signifying the lure of Mourinho given their talents.
Michy Batshuayi left on a free transfer, joining Galatasaray, while Euro 2024 sensation Fredi Kadıoğlu left for Brighton in what has been a busy summer for the manager.
Tactical tweaks
Last term, Fenerbahçe scored 99 league goals, relying on Džeko’s brilliance in front of goal while utilising Tadić in the creator role, using all of his experience to link up well with teammates Fred and Kadıoğlu on the left side during the build-up phase. This therefore opened up space on the right flank for İrfan Can Kahveci and Bright Osayi-Samuel to exploit.
Mourinho has deployed a 4-2-3-1 regularly this season, which often turns into a 4-4-2 out of possession, with a midfield diamond, as Sebastian Szymański pushes into a more advanced role alongside Džeko.
The team like to build from the back when in possession, as the two centre-midfielders drop closer to the centre-backs, enabling shorter passing distances and giving the defenders simple passes under pressure.
These tweaks have seen Mourinho lead his team to a decent start to the season. The club have won four of their opening six league matches, conceding just five goals in the process.
While Champions League qualification eluded the polarising 61-year-old, he will be hoping to take Fenerbahçe as far as possible in the Europa League this season.
His first big test came against Galatasaray last weekend, one that could potentially turn the title race on its head during the embryonic stages of the campaign…
A bump in the road
The Intercontinental Derby is a rivalry steeped in history, having first been played in 1909. Since their last title in 2014, Fenerbahçe had won only six games against Galatasaray.
If there was a fixture Mourinho was born to manage in, it was surely this one. But his presence in the dugout wasn’t enough for the club to claim back-to-back wins over their rivals.
A stunning effort from Lucas Torreira cannoned off the post and hit the back of Dominik Livaković to give last seasons champions the lead, before Dries Mertens dinked a delightful finish over the goalkeeper to extend their lead.
Gabriel Sara sealed the win with a curling strike with just 30 minutes to play, despite Edin Džeko dispatching a penalty just a few minutes, giving Fenerbahçe a glimmer of hope.
Mourinho couldn’t inspire his team to a late comeback, suffering his first domestic defeat since taking over in the summer. They didn’t play badly, generating 3.40 xG, with the heroics of Fernando Muslera preventing Fenerbahçe scoring more than once.
Galatasaray now hold a five-point advantage in the Süper Lig. The panic button wont be pushed just yet, but if the Portuguese manager is to end a decade long title drought for the club, he will have to muster all of his experience and tactical nous.
Mourinho isn’t getting any younger. Will he go out with a bang in Türkiye? Or will the modern game chew him up and spit him out once again?
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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