José Mourinho was officially paraded as new coach of Turkish giants Fenerbahçe on Sunday evening, with 40,000 fans in attendance to greet Mourinho in Istanbul.
Mourinho has signed a two-year contract with the option of a further year at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, where he will be expected to end Fenerbahçe’s long wait for the Turkish title.
Fener president Ali Koç sat alongside Mourinho at the presentation in the stadium, having delivered on his election promise to bring the Portuguese to the club. Mourinho appeared humbled by the excitement of the crowd, whom he addressed with some powerful words to demonstrate his intentions.
“First of all, I want to thank you for your love,” Mourinho began. “The love that I feel from the first moment my name was connected with Fenerbahçe. Normally a coach is loved after victories. In this case I feel that I am loved before victories. And that for me is a big responsibility that I feel. And I promise you that from this moment, I belong to your family. This shirt is my skin.”
Mourinho was often delayed in his speech by outbursts of Fener fans chanting, which he responded to by twirling the club’s shirt and scarfs around his head. With each address, the two-time Champions League winning coach drew rapturous applause from his adoring public.
“Football is passion and there is no better place to feel that passion,” he continued. “Since the moment I met with president Ali Koç, I wanted to play for you. Because in the end, you are the soul of the football club. And since the moment I met him, since the moment I understood his ideas and project, I wanted to play for you. I wanted to be the coach of all of you.
“I want to work for Turkish football. I want to work for the Turkish league. I want to help to improve. But the most important thing for me is not Turkish football; it’s not Turkish league. It’s Fenerbahçe.
“And just to finish I want to say, that from the moment I signed my contract – your dreams are now my dreams.”
Mourinho’s task at Fener is certainly not straightforward. The club have not won the Turkish Super Lig for 10 years, with this season’s points haul of 99 not enough to surpass rivals Galatasaray, who finished on an extraordinary 102 having dropped points in just five matches all season.
The 61-year-old is reportedly due to earn a salary of €10m per year before bonuses. There will no doubt be much speculation over which players will join Mourinho in Istanbul, with his former Roma forward Paulo Dybala among the names linked with the new era at Fenerbahçe.
By @SeanGillen9
