Fenerbahce’s head coach, Jose Mourinho, spoke ahead of their UEFA Europa League Week 2 match against Twente. The press conference took place before the crucial away game, where Mourinho shared his thoughts about the match and his time at Fenerbahce.
Here are the highlights from Mourinho’s statements:
“THEY DEFEND WELL”
“They are strong as a team. You can see how they play as a cohesive unit. They defend very well, and we will be facing a very good team. Although we haven’t been able to train at a high intensity, at least we know what we need to do tactically.”
“NO REGRETS”
“I don’t distinguish between the clubs I’ve worked for as being on different levels. Every club has its goals. There’s no difference between winning La Liga with Real Madrid and winning the Turkish League with Fenerbahce. I have never regretted my decision to come here. I’m fully focused on what I want to achieve with this club.”
“TURKISH PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ME WELL”
“I won the Champions League with Porto 20 years ago, and two years ago I won the Conference League with Roma. My ambitions from 20 years ago are still the same. Fenerbahce is a club that shares this hunger. I still feel the same fire and desire inside. My appearance might have changed, but nothing else. Fenerbahce wants to win trophies, and we’re here to face difficult situations to reach our goals. The Turkish people understand what I mean very well. The league is tough, and this odd format (in the Europa League) has both good and bad aspects. One good thing is that no more teams drop down from the Champions League. We hope to pass the first stage.”
“TWENTE IS A GOOD TEAM”
“In the past, I won many times against Dutch teams because I coached good teams. It’s not about me; it’s about the potential of the teams. Matches against Dutch teams have always been tough. I like winning; I don’t enjoy losing. When Dutch teams play at home, the matches are especially hard. We’ll play away against both Twente and AZ, and I’m not pleased with that. Even just the airport is an hour away, which adds to the challenges. Dutch teams have a certain dose of pragmatism, and I can say that Twente is a very good team.”
