Wherever he is, Jose Mourinho is Jose Mourinho. Between the moments of brilliance, the controversies and the new nickname given by his team's arch-enemies, he never strays from the headlines.
From Roma to Fenerbahce, and like his football in every challenge and triumph, Mourinho has been consistent between the brilliant performances, the arguments with referees, the player management and the media stunts.
The “Special One” remains himself, although in Türkiye they tried to label him the “Crying One” after the Istanbul derby with Galatasaray.
After arriving at one of Türkiye's strongest clubs, Mourinho did not delay in making people talk about him with off-field stories and did not change his style of football.
Mourinho's latest performance in Fenerbahce's 2-0 home win over Antalyaspor brought back memories of his handcuffing gesture towards the referee in February 2010 while at Inter Milan.
Images of what happened in Antalya have gone viral on social media: in protest at the referee, Mourinho placed his laptop in front of one of the cameras in the stadium.
The screen stopped as Mou had something to say. Immediately, the referee cautioned the former Roma coach.
Back on the opening day of the Super Lig, it took Mourinho just 15 minutes to pick up his first yellow card of the season at the start of the match between Fenerbahce and Adana Demirspor for crossing into the technical area.
It is worth mentioning that when his opponent also committed the same act, no penalty card was drawn. That was enough to once again turn the "Special One" into a victim.
Fenerbahce fans were on his side as evidenced on social media. “Welcome to Türkiye, now you know how it works” was what supporters wanted to say.
The first major derby of his time in Istanbul, on the other hand, was a complete disaster for Mourinho – Fenerbahce lost 3-1 to Galatasaray. In addition to the on-field humiliation, the off-field humiliation was also timely with the mockery of Mou’s legacy, who became the “Crying One” overnight.
On Galatasaray’s social media page, they posted a fake photo of a book written by Mourinho. The title is “The Crying One”, a parody of Mourinho’s nickname.
Accompanied by the caption: “On sale at bookstores near Kadikoy.” Kadikoy is a district of Istanbul where Fenerbahce is located.
Fans went wild with their comments, but even Mourinho's fury could not be contained.
A Turkish journalist showed the photo to Mourinho after the match. And Mou's reaction: "Are you serious or joking? Are you sure you're a journalist?". Then he left without attending the post-match press conference.
In the English version, Galasataray posted a closer but blurry photo of Mourinho, with Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk in sharp focus behind him. “The winner” was the caption for the photo.
Fenerbahce are now fourth in the table and Mourinho remains in charge. But alongside the boos, there were also those who defended him.
"Give him time, impatience is never good," said veteran coach Yilmaz Vural. "A person like him is very important to promote Turkish football."
Whether that is true, only time will tell. For now, Turkish football can enjoy the “Mourinho show” while still…
