Fenerbahçe’s Europa League Hopes Hang in the Balance—Can Mourinho Do It Again?
Fenerbahçe suffered a 3-1 home defeat against Scottish side Rangers in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, making qualification to the next round more difficult.
Ahead of the return leg on Thursday, March 13, memories of Jose Mourinho’s past European comebacks resurface, as the Portuguese coach has successfully overturned similar deficits multiple times in his career.
Having managed Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham, and Roma—achieving European success with many of them—Mourinho now aims to stage another comeback against Rangers.
The 62-year-old coach has previously lost the first leg of a knockout-stage tie (after the group phase) six times in his career but managed to guide his team through to the next round each time.
Porto’s Historic UEFA Cup Triumph
In the 2002-2003 season, when Mourinho won his first European trophy with Porto, his team faced Greek side Panathinaikos in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Porto lost the first leg 1-0 but secured a 2-0 away victory in Athens to advance to the semi-finals. They went on to lift the trophy that season.
A year later, Mourinho led Porto to UEFA Champions League glory before moving to Chelsea. In his first season in England, he orchestrated another memorable comeback in the Champions League Round of 16. Chelsea lost 2-1 to Barcelona at Camp Nou but turned the tie around with a thrilling 4-2 win in the second leg.
Second Chelsea Stint: Another Champions League Comeback
During his second tenure at Chelsea in the 2013-2014 season, Mourinho once again reached the Champions League semi-finals. In the quarter-finals, Chelsea faced PSG and suffered a 3-1 defeat in the first leg. However, a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge saw the London club progress to the next round.
The following season, Chelsea met PSG again in the Round of 16, but after two draws, they were eliminated on away goals. Despite this setback, Mourinho’s side finished the season as Premier League and League Cup champions.
Roma’s Road to Two Consecutive European Finals
After returning to Italy in the 2021-2022 season, Mourinho led Roma to back-to-back European finals.
In the UEFA Europa Conference League, Roma topped their group but lost 2-1 to Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-final first leg. They responded with a commanding 4-0 victory in the return match to book their place in the semi-finals.
The following season, Roma competed in the UEFA Europa League. In the knockout round play-offs, they lost 1-0 to Austria’s Salzburg but secured a 2-0 win in the second leg to advance. Later, in the quarter-finals, they faced Feyenoord—a team they had beaten in the previous season’s Conference League final. After losing the first leg 1-0, Roma produced another comeback, winning 4-1 in the return leg to reach the semi-finals.
With Fenerbahçe’s defeat to Rangers, their Europa League quarter-final hopes are now in jeopardy. However, Mourinho has emphasized that only the first 90 minutes have been played, keeping hopes of a turnaround alive.
The decisive second leg between Rangers and Fenerbahçe will take place on Thursday, March 13, at 23:00 Turkish time at Ibrox Stadium.
