Jose Mourinho was sacked by Fenerbahce earlier this week after just one season in charge, with the Turkish giants' president Alic Koc explaining the decision
Jose Mourinho before the start of the UEFA Champions League Play Off 2nd Leg match between SL Benfica and Fenerbahce.
Former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was sacked by Fenerbahce following their Champions League loss vs Benfica.
(Image: Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)
Fenerbahce president Alic Koc has confessed that the decision to sack Jose Mourinho was driven by a desire for "better football", insisting that their Champions League play-off exit did not influence the move.
Mourinho, known as 'The Special One', was gearing up for his second year at the helm of the Turkish club but saw his stint abruptly ended due to his style of play. Despite his efforts, Fenerbahce failed to surpass rivals Galatasaray in the title race under Mourinho's management.
This means their quest for league glory continues to stretch back to 2014, while the former Manchester United manager was unable to secure any trophies during his solitary year in charge. Fenerbahce suffered an early setback this season, failing to qualify for the Champions League.
They were narrowly defeated by Benfica, who triumphed in the two-legged tie 1-0. Fenerbahce managed to secure four points from a possible six at the start of their campaign before parting ways with Mourinho, whose approach ultimately cost him his job.
Speaking to Turkish sports outlet Fanatik, Koc revealed: "Why did we fire Mourinho? I'll say it for the first time, it was a painful dismissal. Parting ways with someone who is above all a friend was tough. Being eliminated by Benfica wasn't a problem, but the way we were eliminated was unacceptable.", he told Turkish sport outlet Fanatik, via the Mirror.
"This made me feel like last year's football would continue. We parted ways because we believed this squad would be playing better football at this point.
"We knew our coach would put emphasis on defence when we brought him in, but we talked about the need to play more dominantly at the end of the season. Scoring 99 goals and getting 99 points [as Fenerbahce had done in the Superlig in the 2023-24 season] is our genetic code."
Despite finishing 11 points behind rivals Galatasaray and being knocked out of the Europa League by Rangers, who were led by interim boss Barry Ferguson and won on penalties, Koc maintains that hiring Mourinho "was a huge success. Our chemistry worked, the successes were there."
He's now considering another foreign appointment, despite being turned down by former Napoli boss Luciano Spalleti.
The club chief revealed: "Luciano Spalletti was our first choice, but he decided not to work this season," he said. "Due to the large number of foreign players in our team, we feel that the coach ought to be someone foreign with European experience. We're in contact with several and will announce our new coach very soon."
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