Jose Mourinho’s fall from grace in elite football accelerated Friday when the charismatic Portuguese coach left Turkish club Fenerbahce, two days after failing to get back into the Champions League after a long absence.
His latest short managerial spell – this one lasted barely a year, in a second-tier European league – leaves the 62-year-old Mourinho’s career at a crossroads, with top teams potentially no longer wanting to take a chance on a coach whose best days might be behind him.
Fenerbahce’s elimination at the hands of Benfica in a Champions League qualifying playoff on Wednesday was another blow to the status of Mourinho, who once was considered one of the world’s best coaches and famously had a heated rivalry with Pep Guardiola during their time in Spain with Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.
A Champions League winner with Porto and Inter Milan, Mourinho has not coached in the main stage of the marquee competition for six seasons. He won the third-tier Conference League with Roma in 2022 but his time at the Italian club from 2021-24 was pock-marked with squabbles that resurfaced in his brief and chaotic spell in Turkiye.
Turbulent times in Turkiye
There was an incident in April when he grabbed the nose of Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk in the Istanbul derby, earning a three-match ban and a fine.
Indeed, the fiery matches between the two local rivals brought out the worst in Mourinho. Two months earlier, he was handed a four-match ban after making an incendiary comment in the aftermath of a league match against Galatasaray, which announced its intention to start legal proceedings against Mourinho.
Mourinho, who often railed against what he perceived to be poor refereeing in Turkiye, wore the look of a frustrated and unhappy man during his time with Fenerbahce.
Gone was the charm and self-confidence that oozed out of the self-styled “Special One” during the peak years at his first spell at Chelsea from 2004-07, for example.
In October, he even said: “I think the best thing I have to do is when I leave Fenerbahce I go to a club that doesn’t play UEFA competitions. So you find a club in England from the bottom of the table, needs a coach in two years, I am ready to go.”
Who knows, that might be where Mourinho ends up after his departure from Fenerbahce, whose own absence from the Champions League now stretches to 17 seasons.
“We have parted ways with Jose Mourinho,” Fenerbahce posted to its millions of followers in a short statement on its X and Instagram accounts. “We thank him for his efforts for our team and wish him success in his future career.”
There was no immediate statement on the club’s official website.
What next for Mourinho?
Mourinho was once a serial trophy winner, a guarantee of silverware.
Yet that’s now two clubs – Tottenham (from 2019-21) and Fenerbahce – where he hasn’t guided his team to a title. His career trajectory, meanwhile, is heading downwards: from Real Madrid, to Manchester United, to Tottenham, to Roma and then to Fenerbahce.
Coaching the national team of his native Portugal might be one future option for Mourinho, who established a strong reputation for being a pragmatic, tactically astute manager with an uncanny ability to win one-off matches. Those attributes might serve him well in international football.
The days of him leading teams to success in the Champions League or in the top European leagues seem a long way away, however.
Solskjaer also out in Turkiye
It hasn’t been a good couple of days for former Man United managers in Turkiye.
On Thursday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who replaced Mourinho in charge of United in 2018, was fired by Besiktas hours after a loss to Swiss team Lausanne in the Conference League playoffs.
Solskjaer had been in charge since January.
Mourinho leaves Fenerbahce after Champions League failure in latest career blow to the ‘special one’
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Mourinho leaves Fenerbahce after Champions League failure in latest career blow to the ‘special one’
- His latest short managerial spell leaves the 62-year-old Mourinho’s career at a crossroads
- Mourinho was considered one of the world’s best coaches
Al-Nassr move top of Saudi Pro League after Al-Hilal held by 10-man Al-Ittihad
- Cristiano Ronaldo scores brace in dominant 4-0 victory over Al-Hazem
- Al-Hilal take early lead against Al-Ittihad before Houssem Aouar equalises despite visitors playing with 10 men
RIYADH: Less than a month after Cristiano Ronaldo withdrew from the squad for two consecutive matches, Al-Nassr now sit top of the Saudi Pro League with 12 games remaining.
A commanding 4-0 victory over Al-Hazem, combined with Al-Ittihad holding Al-Hilal to a 1-1 draw despite playing with 10 men for more than 80 minutes, saw Al-Nassr return to the summit.
The Kingdom Arena witnessed a blistering start to the Saudi Clasico. Karim Benzema threaded a pass through to Salem Al-Dawsari, who squared the ball for Malcom to open the scoring in the fifth minute.
Al-Hilal immediately pressed for a second, with their attacking movement unsettling the visitors’ defence. Hassan Kadesh was initially cautioned in the eighth minute for pulling down Malcom, but a VAR review upgraded the decision to a red card as the Brazilian broke through on goal.
The dismissal sparked controversy, with players disputing the call and fans debating the decision on social media, including under broadcaster Thmanyah’s post on X questioning whether it was the correct outcome.
Al-Ittihad reshaped into a 4-4-1, with Houssem Aouar dropping into the left side of midfield and Mario Mitaj slotting in at left-back, placing increased responsibility on Mahamadou Doumbia to drive the team forward.
In the 23rd minute, Doumbia wriggled free from pressure deep in his own half before releasing Youssef En-Nesyri with a dangerous through ball, but Yassine Bounou stood firm to deny his countryman.
Al-Ittihad continued to threaten through direct passes to En-Nesyri. In first-half stoppage time, he broke into space once more before Hassan Al-Tambakti intervened with a crucial interception.
At the other end, Benzema went close to doubling the lead just before the interval, but Predrag Rajkovic produced a decisive save after the Frenchman was found unmarked inside the six-yard box.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Al-Ittihad refused to retreat. In the 53rd minute, a floated cross from Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti found Aouar, who slipped in behind Moteb Al-Harbi to head past Bounou and level the score.
En-Nesyri was presented with another clear opening in the 64th minute, but his effort lacked conviction and was comfortably gathered by Bounou.
Al-Hilal, by contrast, struggled to replicate their first-half dominance. Rajkovic produced nine saves on the night, while Danilo Pereira delivered a resolute defensive display to deny Al-Dawsari and Benzema space in the final third.
Despite registering more than 10 attempts after the break, Al-Hilal failed to rediscover their rhythm as Sergio Conceicao organized a disciplined defensive performance to earn Al-Ittihad a valuable point in Riyadh.
While Al-Hilal were held at Kingdom Arena, Al-Nassr were a short drive away at Al-Awwal Park, knowing victory would take them top.
A week after scoring the winner against Al-Fateh on his return, Ronaldo opened the scoring once again after Kingsley Coman found him unmarked inside the box.
Coman was also involved in Al-Nassr’s second goal on the half-hour mark, when Joao Felix slipped the Frenchman through before he powered his finish into the net.
As news of Al-Ittihad’s equalizer filtered through, the noise inside Al-Awwal Park intensified. Angelo added a third in the 77th minute after a surging run from halfway that saw him glide past four Al-Hazem players, before Ronaldo sealed the win with a composed finish two minutes later — his 20th league goal of the season.
The result lifts Al-Nassr to first place on 55 points, one ahead of Al-Hilal in second. Al-Ittihad remain sixth on 38 points, behind Al-Taawoun, with an AFC Champions League Elite spot now 13 points away.
Elsewhere, Al-Khaleej and NEOM faced off in Dammam, with the match interrupted by a 19-minute power outage. After play resumed, NEOM snatched a 1-0 victory as Alexandre Lacazette converted a penalty in the 88th minute.
The Saudi Pro League returns on Monday following a one-day break to mark Saudi Founding Day.
The gap between first and fourth now stands at just five points, with Al-Nassr facing Al-Fayha, Al-Hilal hosting rivals Al-Shabab, Al-Ahli meeting Al-Riyadh and Al-Qadsiah taking on Al-Taawoun on Matchday 24.
