Jose Mourinho Joins Fenerbahçe: “This Jersey is Now Part of My Body”

Following İsmail Kartal, Fenerbahçe appointed Jose Mourinho as the new head coach. Today, Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç and Mario Branco arrived in Istanbul from London with Mourinho.

Fenerbahçe held a signing ceremony for the Portuguese coach at Ülker Stadium.

Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç and head coach Jose Mourinho stepped onto the field at 19:07. The fans filled the stands, lighting flares and chanting Mourinho’s name.

Before the signing, Ali Koç made a statement.

Statements from Jose Mourinho

“Good afternoon. First of all, I thank you for your love. From the moment my name was linked with Fenerbahçe, I felt the love you showed. Normally, a coach sees love after achieving victories, but I have already felt this. It gives me a great responsibility. I promise you that from this moment on, I am also part of your family. The Fenerbahçe jersey is now part of my body. Football is a passion, and I am in one of the best places to feel this passion. From the first moment I met Ali Koç, I wanted to be here for you. You are a very large fan group. I wanted to be here for your passion. From this moment on, your dreams are my dreams…”

Statements from Ali Koç

“Great Fenerbahçe family, great Fenerbahçe fans, welcome to our historical shrine where we have played our matches for over 100 years. I greet the millions of our fans watching us on screens. Today, we are taking a historic step for our club. Hopefully, God will bring a good outcome. I say ‘Welcome’ to our head coach Jose Mourinho. He is undoubtedly one of the top five coaches in world history, among those living and those who have passed. He has chosen us for Fenerbahçe’s championships. He is a world-renowned coach who has won the Coach of the Year award at the world’s biggest clubs, has won 27 trophies, and is the only coach in the world to have won three UEFA Cups. The signature we are making today is a harbinger of the level we want to take Fenerbahçe to. He will show the ‘Winner’ coach status he held at other clubs and leagues here. With his comments last night, Jose Mourinho made an extraordinary promotion of our club and our country. He will continue to do so. We already have a very strong squad. Unless we receive an extraordinary offer, we will keep everyone. With the additional players we will bring in, we are already the real champions of this year, and the championship we aim to achieve next year will be a harbinger of future championships. We are already the real champions of this year. The championship we will achieve next year, which is our goal, will be a harbinger of future championships. We are bursting with excitement. May God be our helper and protector. Long live Fenerbahçe.”