By Cheta Enyoghasi
Jose Mourinho has described himself “as the foreign one” following Fenerbahce’s wild 2-2 tie against Goztepe.
The Portuguese manager who famously described himself as the ‘Special One’ when he joined Chelsea in 2004, has had a difficult start in the Turkish Super Lig.
After being knocked out of UEFA Champions League qualification by Lille, Fenerbahce gave up a 2-0 lead away to Goztepe, stating that he lacked the authority to change the country’s football culture.
Mourinho expressed that his passion for football and enthusiasm matches with theirs, but there were cultural challenges and the need for adaptation, while acknowledging he is not a magician but well experienced.
He said via ESPN: “The passion, the love, the enthusiasm matches with my passion with football, totally,
“Then there are other things that are out of my control, [they] are cultural.
“It looks like it’s for me to adapt and not vice versa. I am the one that arrived, I am the foreign one.
“I’m not going to change the state of things. I need to adapt… I am not a magician, I am experienced.”
The former Chelsea boss is tasked with ending Fenerbahce’s decade-long title drought, but has already suffered a brace of disappointments at the hands of Lille and Goztepe.
Despite playing against 10 men for the closing stages of their Champions League third qualifying round, Jonathan David’s penalty eliminated Mourinho’s charges in the 118th minute.
A last-gasp goal was their undoing against Goztepe too, with Romulo Cardoso striking in the 95th minute to rescue a point.
The 61-year-old urged his players to be “smart” in order to “kill the game” before the home fans had the chance to get behind their team.
