"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. 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."
Fenerbahçe president Alic Koç described the dismissal of José Mourinho as painful but necessary to enable the team to play better football. Mourinho, 62, was dismissed on Aug. 29 after Fenerbahçe lost 1-0 on aggregate to Benfica in Champions League qualification. Koç said the manner of elimination was unacceptable and that Mourinho's defensive tactics were holding the squad back. Koç emphasized Fenerbahçe's attacking identity—citing 99 goals and 99 points in 2023-24—and said the club parted ways to pursue a more dominant style. Koç expressed no regret for hiring Mourinho and expects to name a likely foreign successor soon.
Read at ESPN.com
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