FENERBAHCE president Ali Koc has now revealed why he had to brutally axe Jose Mourinho.
The Special One was shown the door on August 29 after just over a year in charge, following a miserable Champions League play-off exit to Benfica.
Jose Mourinho’s magic ran dry at Fenerbahce[/caption]
President of Fenerbahce Ali Koc admitted sacking Mourinho was tough as he was a friend[/caption]
Mourinho has been linked to the West Ham and Nottingham Forest jobs[/caption]
And while the 1-0 aggregate loss wasn’t the only reason, Koc says it was the way they lost and Mourinho’s defensive tactics that sealed his fate.
Speaking to Turkish outlet Hurriyet, Koc said: “Why did we let go of Mourinho? It was a bitter parting.
“Our chemistry was great and just bringing him here was a big success.
“But we needed to play more dominant football, scoring 99 goals and earning 99 points is in our DNA.”
Koc added: “Getting knocked out by Benfica wasn’t the issue.
“But how we went out was unacceptable. It felt like the same dull football from last year would continue.”
During his time at the helm, Mourinho managed 62 matches, winning 37, drawing 14 and losing 11 — but failed to lift a trophy.
The club also bombed domestically, finishing second in the league without beating any of the top five sides and losing both league and cup clashes to fierce rivals Galatasaray.
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To make matters worse, Mourinho reportedly clashed with the board and sidelined local stars like Ismail Yuksek and Irfan Can Kahveci.
That fuelled claims he had become “prejudiced” against homegrown talent.
Despite his glittering CV with silverware at Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Man United, and Roma, Mourinho couldn’t work his magic in Turkey.
And Fener chiefs were left fuming after none of their players attracted big-money offers this summer with even Mourinho’s hand-picked signings failing to shine.
Mourinho is regarded as one of the best managers of all time after success at clubs like Chelsea[/caption]
He won the Champions League at Inter Milan in 2010[/caption]
Koc summed it up: “This kind of football may work in Europe, but in Turkey we need to dominate. We believed this squad could play better without him.”
Since being sacked, Jose Mourinho has been linked with both Nottingham Forest and West Ham United as he weighs his next move.