Less than a year ago, Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu home stadium was packed with spectators on the day of Jose Mourinho's debut. Now, its heat has decreased too much as all eyes are no longer fully on this strategist.
Last weekend, Fenerbahce won 2-1 against Eyupspor at home. However, that was not enough for the team to overthrow arch-rival Galatasaray.
Galatasaray also won the match of round 34 of the Super Lig, thereby winning the championship 2 rounds early 8 points ahead of Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce's position will be guaranteed when the 3rd-placed team, Samsunspor, has only 60 points. It can be seen that the match in the Turkish league is just a draw between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
This result extended Fenerbahce's unbeaten run in Super League to 11 seasons. Before Mourinho's arrival, the team's fans were fed up when Fenerbahce set a sad record of 10 seasons without winning the Super Lig.
Nearly a year ago, more than 50,000 people crowded into Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Mourinho's debut. Now, that number is only about 10,000 in the win over Eyupspor. Although it was less than 1/5 full capacity in the stands, fans still created a huge noise with the screams and whistles when the team officially became the runner-up. The anger was directed at Chairman Ali Koc and the board.
This usually signals the end of a coach's term. According to Ali Koc's habit, coaches are not successful, even in the first season, they will not be given more opportunities in the next season. Since taking the presidency in 2018, Ali Koc has sacked 12 coaches before Mourinho arrived. The previous 12 men only averaged 24 games in charge before losing their seats. There are those who have only been in charge for 3 months, such as former Netherlands captain Philip Cocu.
Earlier this month, Ali Koc posted a notice about Jose Mourinho's future. "We want to continue with Jose Mourinho because we need to find stability," he said.
This season will be the 4th consecutive year that Fenerbahce has finished the Super Lig season as runner-up. In terms of position, 2nd place is not bad, but 3/4 of the season this team has finished second, they have been surpassed by their great rivals.
Is Fenerbahce too poor? The answer is yes. Not only in Super Lig, they also fell very early in other playgrounds such as the Champions League qualifiers, round 2 of the Europa League or the Turkish Cup. This season, Mourinho's army clashed Galatasaray 3 times, they had 2 results and a 0-0 draw. These results make "special people" become the focus of the mocking games from Galatasaray fans. Once, they drew a caricature about the 62 -year -old teacher in a psychological unstable state, accompanied by the words: "Galatasaray made him crazy."
In terms of points in the Super Lig, Jose Mourinho is behind his predecessor Ismail Kartal. Last season, Fenerbahce finished round 38 with 99 points but Galatasaray had 102 points. The gap this season could be widened as they have lost to their arch-rivals by 8 points.
This season, there have been many very bad matches for Fenerbahce, while Mourinho from criticizing the referee to giving advice to the opponent, is still an extreme action that only makes the situation more serious. There is no difference when the "Special One" comes, only disappointment is multiplied.
So why is Mourinho still being kept? Up to now, the team's owners have changed their minds. They said that if the coach was fired again, Fenerbahce's situation would not be brighter. Mourinho is a foreign coach, so he also needs his first year to get used to the culture of the Super Lig.
If Mourinho is sacked right now, Fenerbahce will have to compensate him about 10 million Euros for the remaining 2 years in the contract. During his 7 years in charge at Sukru Saracoglu, Ali Koc spent a lot of money, losing another 10 million Euros seems not simple. Remember, it was Mourinho's appearance that helped Ali Koc regain some trust from fans after 3 consecutive years of Fenerbahce winning the runner-up position. If he sacks Special One, it could be a bad act.
Ali Koc has 3 more years left in his term and will bet on Mourinho in the 2025-2026 season. In fact, Fenerbahce has not invested in any sudden changes in terms of personnel, so it is unsatisfactory to blame Mourinho. Except for the case of Mourinho nodding to a team in Saudi Arabia this summer, the "Special One" will leave Fenerbahce for another season in the hope of a Galatasaray overthrow.
