Press Conference Highlights: Jose Mourinho Talks Fenerbahçe’s Performance and Future Challenges

Fenerbahçe emerged victorious 2-0 from the Antalyaspor away match in the 7th week of the Trendyol Super League. After the match, the yellow-navy blue team’s head coach, Jose Mourinho, made remarks.

When asked whether he feels more pressure at home or away, Fenerbahçe Coach Jose Mourinho responded, “I don’t see any difference. There was only pressure after losing the last Super League match, but we resolved that with the two victories we obtained in our European and league matches.”

“I DON’T LIKE INTERNATIONAL BREAKS”

Expressing that they can’t do anything during the international break due to many players being unavailable for training with the team, Mourinho said, “We won’t have players who can continue training here. Most of our players are going to their national teams, so we can’t do much during that period. We can’t do anything. We only have about 6-7 players who are not called up to the national team, and then there’s Tadic because he has left the national team. Therefore, there’s nothing you can do to improve the team during that period. After the players return from the national team, we’ll have a match three days later. We have a European match. So, the international break is not positive for us; in fact, we can say it’s negative. Plus, we have a European match after the international week, which means we’ll be playing for another week. Because that’s not something I like. There are many things we can develop as we work. First and foremost, one of those is for the players to understand the game philosophy I want. Because most players don’t understand this. The best players in the world always touch the ball once or twice, but some players cannot understand certain things for passing. Kostic made a very simple cross, and it resulted in a goal. There’s no need to touch the ball 20 times or dribble it 10 times. Football is a simple game, and top-level players in the world always touch the ball once or twice. Some players can kill the game with their individual quality, but you have to do the right things positionally beforehand. I was very angry at halftime. We were better positionally in the second half, and we were more disciplined. Therefore, when the players understand what we want to do and start playing simply, the team performed much better in the second half.”

“I SHOWED MY REACTION, AND I GOT A YELLOW CARD”

Stating that he was not satisfied with the referee’s decisions during the match and received a yellow card as a result of his reaction, Mourinho noted, “I don’t care whether the VAR referee is foreign or Turkish. The only thing I want is for the VAR referees to be able to help the central referees make the right decisions. During the first half regarding the goal line incident, he had placed the laptop in front of me for my analysis, and when we looked at it from our angle, there was no offside on the left back. I also put the angle from the tactical camera, which shows the entire field, there. I didn’t say a single word at that moment. I didn’t create any pressure. If you look at his general decisions, there are actually many decisions that could raise a lot of questions. From the very first minute, there was a possible penalty situation for Dzeko. At the same time, there was an elbow to his face and a second yellow card situation. Dzeko had a goal that was not awarded. Therefore, there were many decisions that created a lot of questionable doubts. I leave the interpretation of that to you. I calmly just showed my reaction there. He preferred to show me a yellow card, but it’s not a problem.”

“I HOPE ALEX WILL BE FENERBAHÇE’S HEAD COACH ONE DAY”

When asked about his thoughts on the football atmosphere and fans in Turkey, Jose Mourinho said, “Today, there was a beautiful atmosphere. The stadium was nice. The pitch was not great, but it wasn’t bad either. Alex prepared his team well. They played very tough and well because they defended. They were strategically very strong and good. He showed that he is a young coach with a future. I hope Alex becomes Fenerbahçe’s head coach one day. We played to win today. It was a competitive match.”

“TURKISH FOOTBALL NEEDS GOAL LINE TECHNOLOGY”

In response to a question about goal line technology, Mourinho said, “For people in England, if they watched a match, it might have seemed strange in terms of the absence of goal line technology. Because I think it’s very important that it leads to questionable situations right from the first minutes of the match. Turkish football needs this as well. If possible, I think this technology should come to Turkish football as soon as possible. Turkish football should step up. Because this is a technology that is available in almost every country in Europe. Looking from the perspective of the fans, both our fans and the Antalya fans were quite good.”

“I HAD NO INFORMATION ABOUT THE INCIDENT”

When asked if he looked tired and about Serhat Akın’s assault, Mourinho responded:

“I don’t feel that way. I might look that way, but I’m not tired. I couldn’t sleep much last night because there was a big party around the hotel. There was loud music and lasers. So, maybe it was a very good party, but I couldn’t sleep before 2. For that reason, I might look tired. In every 90 minutes we play, yes, maybe I don’t run, jump, or kick the ball, but I play that match with my players on the sidelines. Therefore, it’s possible for coaches to look tired at the end of the match. I had no information about the assault incident. I hope he is okay. The shooter seems to not be very good. I couldn’t follow the news; I need to follow the news, but it’s not something to laugh about.

“What did he want to convey by putting the laptop in front of the camera?”

Jose Mourinho: “It wasn’t offside. When looking at the left back, Dzeko is not offside. This position was clean.”

“Szymanski is a player who, even if he doesn’t play great, his contribution to the team is very important. He’s a player who brings the intensity in our pressure, able to do that for 90 minutes. He’s a player who makes runs behind the defense. He is always very important for us. He may sometimes look tired because he plays every match and every minute, but he is someone very important for us.”

“How is your development going?”

“The same question is asked every match. When will you be at your peak, how is your development, etc. I can’t answer that. We need to work very hard. It doesn’t happen just by snapping your fingers. Everyone wants to be fast, but football is not like that. Stability is needed. It was a tough match for us. Alex prepared a good team; they were a tough opponent. Those who didn’t have difficulties were the VAR referees. They made decisions in 5 seconds. The stadium was very hot. There was almost no airflow. We won the two matches we played after the derby. There’s a long break until the next match after the Twente match. During that break, my daughter’s wedding will also take place.”