What Can Jose Mourinho Achieve at Fenerbahçe?
Jose Mourinho is one of the most successful football managers of his generation. He is the first head coach to win the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. The man from Portugal has won league titles in Portugal, England, Italy, and Spain.
After signing to be Fenerbahce’s new head coach, replacing Ismail Kartal, Mourinho has a new challenge in his career. Here is a look at what the Portuguese boss can achieve at the Super Lig club.
Attract Big Name Players
The first thing Mourinho will do this summer is assess the squad he has and identify the areas he needs to strengthen. He is already being linked with some big-name players across Europe, including striker Romelu Lukaku, who is 8/1 in the Paddy Power football betting to make the switch to Fenerbahce.
Fenerbahce has hired Mourinho as they know he can attract big names to his project. If he can convince some of Europe’s leading stars to join him in Turkey, they are likely to be one of the leading football betting tips to win trophies next season.
The 61-year-old has coached the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Eden Hazard in his career, and he has helped them all improve their game on the pitch. It would be no surprise to see some marquee players who are at the back end of their careers make the move to Istanbul.
League Success
Despite losing just one game in the league, Fenerbahçe had to settle for the runner-up spot in the Super Lig last season behind rivals Galatasaray. Kartal’s side picked up a club-record 99 points, but it still left them three points behind the champions.
The primary goal for Mourinho is likely to be to win the league championship. It has been 10 years since Fenerbahçe last lifted the title. In the all-time standings, they are five behind Galatasaray with 19 titles.
The two league matches against Galatasaray will be key for Fenerbahçe if they are to go one place better next season. Mourinho will be putting a lot of his efforts into coming up with a plan for those matches.
Strong Run in Europe
After finishing second in the Turkish league table, Fenerbahçe begin in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. If they are to book their spot in the new league phase, they will need to win three matches.
The opening leg of their second qualifying round takes place on either the 15th or 16th of July. It means it will be an early start to the season for Mourinho’s squad. He will be keen to bring them into training as quickly as possible to prepare for that vital tie.
Fenerbahçe have not reached the group stage of the Champions League since the 2008/09 season. The furthest they have advanced in the premier European competition was in the 2007/08 campaign when they got through to the quarter-finals.
Mourinho has a rich history in the Champions League, as he has won the competition twice, with his last triumph coming with Inter Milan in 2010. He will be desperate to get through to the group stages at the very least with his new club. If that goal is not possible, he may then see the Europa League as a competition his side could win.
As is always the case with Mourinho, it should be an exciting journey to follow as he bids to bring glory back to Fenerbahçe.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>A Calcio moment we'll never forget. <br><br>On this day in 2010, Inter defeated Barcelona on a 3-2 aggregate to advance to the Champions League Final. ⚫️???? <a href=”//t.co/KTCv9ATYyW”>pic.twitter.com/KTCv9ATYyW</a></p>— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) <a href=”//twitter.com/IFTVofficial/status/1387437695119527939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>