"Let's start our journey together" - Jose Mourinho sends message on social media as Fenerbahce confirm ex-Chelsea boss as new manager
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been announced as the new manager of Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce. The Portuguese tactician has been brought in to end their 10-year wait to lift the domestic league title.
In a post across the club's platforms, Mourinho sent out a message to their fans saying:
“Merhaba [Hello] Fenerbahce fans! See you tomorrow at Kadikoy and let’s start our journey together.”
Mourinho served as the head coach of Serie A side AS Roma for two-and-a-half years before being sacked by the club in January. Regarded fondly as "the special one," the Portuguese tactician will be hoping to revitalize his career in Turkey.
Fenerbahce had an impressive 2023-24 season but missed out on the league title by three points. They won 31 of their 38 league fixtures and accumulated 99 points but were pipped to the title by an imperious Galatasaray side, which secured 102 points.
Jose Mourinho, the journey so far: from Porto to Fenerbahce
Jose Mourinho began his coaching career in 2000 at Benfica before moving to União de Leiria and eventually Porto in 2002. At Porto, he established himself as one of the best managers in Europe, leading the Portuguese side to unprecedented success. He won the Europa League in 2002-03 and followed it up by winning the UEFA Champions League in 2003-04.
Mourinho's success in Portugal earned him a move to Chelsea, where he declared himself "the special one." In west London, he delivered their first league title in 50 years, conceding only 15 goals in the 2004-05 Premier League season. In his three years with the Blues, he retained the league and won two League Cups and an FA Cup before moving to Inter Milan in 2008.
At Inter, he won the league title in 2008-09 and the treble in 2009-10, marking his second Champions League success. Mourinho then moved to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2010, where he won La Liga in 2011-12 and the Copa Del Rey in 2010-11.
The Special one returned to Chelsea where he won a Premier League title and League Cup between 2013 and 2015. He then joined Manchester United in 2016 and won the league cup and Europa League before departing in 2018.
A barren spell in-charge of Tottenham Hotspur followed for two years, from 2019 to 2021, before he joined Roma. In the Italian capital, he lifted the first-ever Europa Conference League trophy and made a Europa League final before departing this year.