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Jose Mourinho: From The Special One To The Crying One In Turkey
Even at Fenerbahce, Jose Mourinho remains true to his character. With flashes of brilliance, ongoing disputes, and a new nickname coined by his team’s fiercest rivals, he consistently makes headlines.
From Roma to Fenerbahce, and as in all his footballing challenges and triumphs, Jose Mourinho has not changed at all between brilliant outings, quarrels with referees, player management, and media strategies.
The so-called ‘Special One’ remains unchanged, despite attempts in Turkey to label him as ‘the Crying One’ or the master of tears after the Istanbul derby against Galatasaray.
After joining one of Turkey’s premier Super Lig clubs following his dismissal by the Giallorossi, the Portuguese coach has quickly made headlines off the pitch. He has also remained true to his distinctive footballing style.
Same old Jose Mourinho
Mourinho’s latest stunt took place in the league game won 2-0 by his Fenerbahce side at home to Antalyaspor and brings back memories, in terms of blatantness, all the way back to his Inter epic when he made the handcuffing gesture against the referee in February 2010.
Images from the incident in Antalya have gone viral on social media. In protest against the referees, the Portuguese coach placed his laptop in front of one of the stadium’s cameras, blocking most of the footage of the challenge.
What makes one wonder is that his PC was stuck with an emblematic freeze frame from the match, which Mou had something to say about. Immediately the referee’s reaction, called by the fourth man, admonished the former Roma coach.
On the opening day of the Super Lig, Mourinho received his first caution of the season just 15 minutes into Fenerbahce’s match against Adana Demirspor for stepping out of the technical area.
It was a pity that the same behavior was also displayed by his opponent colleague, but no action was taken against him. It was enough to once again turn the Special One into a victim, with the Fenerbahce fans all on his side as evidenced by social media.
‘Welcome to Turkey, you now understand how it works’ was roughly the summary of the supporters’ thoughts.
Jose: ‘The Crying One’
The first major derby in his time in Istanbul was, on the other hand, a total disaster for Mourinho. His Fenerbahce side lost 3-1 to Galatasaray powered by Victor Osimhen.
In addition to the humiliation on the pitch, the humiliation of it arrived punctually with the mockery of the Portuguese’s legacy, who for one night became ‘The Crying One.’
Galatasaray shared a photo on their social media of a fake book attributed to Mourinho, titled ‘The Crying One,’ a playful twist on the coach’s long-time nickname. The post included the caption, “On sale in bookstores near Kadikoy,” referring to the Istanbul district where Fenerbahce is based.
Fans went wild in their comments, but even Mourinho’s fury was not kept at bay. A Turkish journalist in the post-match showed the picture to the manager, who did not exactly react very well.
“Are you serious or are you joking? Are you sure you are a journalist?” were his words, and then he left without attending the post-match press conference.
In the English version of the account, Gala posted a picture of Mourinho out of focus and, in the background, the Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk perfectly in focus. There the caption read: ‘The Winning One.’
Fenerbahce currently sits fourth in the standings, and Mourinho continues to be a captivating figure. Amidst the noise, however, there are those who defend him.
“Give him time, impatience is never good,” said senior coach Yilmaz Vural. “Someone like him is important to promote Turkish football.”
Whether that’s true, only time will tell. For now, we can all enjoy the Mourinho show while it lasts.
