Fenerbahce have made a small yet meaningful gesture to Jose Mourinho that no other manager in world football would receive.
Mourinho, a Champions League winner with Porto and Inter, was hired by Fenerbahce earlier this month, having been out of work since being sacked by Roma in January.
The Portuguese coaching icon is said to have signed a two-year deal on an annual salary widely reported to be in the region of £8.5million.
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Mourinho replaced Ismail Kartal, who left the club despite overseeing just one league defeat last term. Such efforts were still not enough to prevent bitter rivals Galatasaray from winning the title by three points.
On Thursday, the 61-year-old shared a social media post to mark his first day working officially for the club. Mourinho is pictured in Fenerbahce training attire, standing arms crossed before a club crest printed on the wall.
And upon his official club clothing is Mourinho’s custom brand logo rather than the bog standard initials provided to most managers.
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Mourinho’s first competitive game for Fenerbahce is likely to be in the Champions League, where the Istanbul side will be required to advance through three qualifying rounds to reach the revamped 36-team league phase.
“I want to thank you for your love,” Mourinho told the Fenerbahce support at his unveiling. “Normally a coach is loved after victories. In this case I feel that I am loved before the victories. That for me is a big responsibility that I feel.
“I promise you from this moment, I belong to your family. This shirt is my skin. Football is passion, and there is no better place [than here] to feel that passion. Since the moment I met the president, I wanted to play for you because you are the soul of the football club. I want to be the coach of all of you.”
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Topics: Jose Mourinho, Fenerbahce, Champions League, Transfer News, Football News, Roma, Galatasaray