Experience the thrill of the game

By Eduard Banulescu

Jose Mourinho is one of the most famous football managers in the world. Since the beginning of the year, he has also been the coach tasked with making Fenerbahce once again Turkey’s top team and a European superpower.

How realistic is that? At the heart of the matter are Mourinho’s famous tactics, which have worked great in the past but have largely failed in recent years.

Today I’m looking at Jose Mourinho’s tactics at Fenerbahce. Remember that Turkish Super League matches are part of fantasy football competitions in FootballCoin.

Career before managing Fenerbahçe

Jose Mourinho has redesigned the role of football manager in his image. He was the most famous manager in the 2000s and actually transformed that role into something comparable to that of a rock star, or at least on par with the most famous football players.

Mourinho’s story is famous. Jose is the son of Felix Mourinho, a former Belenenses professional player. Jose was a young, promising striker himself. He was drafted by Rio Ave and later spent time in the lower divisions. Building on his knowledge and connections, but realizing that he lacked some qualities to become an elite player, Jose Mourinho abandoned his career and chose to become a coach instead.

As is well known, Mourinho became an interpreter for legendary English coach Bobby Robson, who had just taken a job at Sporting CP. However, Mourinho took the opportunity to become something of a tactical assistant to Robson.

This eventually led to Mourinho being appointed Benfica manager for a short period in 2000. After briefly managing União de Leiria, he was given the opportunity to manage FC Porto, which he led to domestic success and, more importantly, winning the Champions League in 2004.

Last years

Mourinho followed with further triumphs and managed European heavyweights such as Chelsea and Inter Milan. Taking over as coach of Real Madrid in 2010 seemed to indicate that the Portuguese had finally reached the top of the mountain. However, his dismissal in 2013 led to a turnaround.

From then on, Mourinho continued to hold top positions at clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and AS Roma, but all ended in dismissal.

Taking on the role of managing director Fenerbahçe, one of the three most important clubs in Turkey, seemed to indicate that Mourinho’s stock had fallen. Meanwhile, Turkish fans rejoiced as the appointment came with massive investment in the team’s transfers.

At the time of writing this article Fenerbahçe is on a winning streak. But as expected, the team is in second place behind Galatasaray in the Turkish Süper Lig.

Tactical philosophy

Jose Mourinho is one of the few football managers whose tactics are almost as famous as the man himself. The media has publicly identified his style as a negative, aggressive and defensive way of playing football. He is the anti-Cruyff, anti-Guardiola. He is everything that FC Barcelona, ​​where he worked as an assistant early on, is not. That’s not necessarily the truth.

Unlike other football managers, Mourinho does not base his game plan solely on the abilities of his players. Rather, the training sessions focus on addressing teammates’ weak points and honing specific tactical and technical skills.

Typically, Mourinho’s teams like to stand deep and play on the counterattack. He prefers fit players over skillful ones. He prefers to play with a back four. Above all, Mourinho wants a very disciplined defense and prefers to have less possession of the ball than the opponent if this increases the risk of making mistakes.

Mourinho has also been considered a master motivator in the past. During his time at Inter, for example, he developed an almost fanatical sense of teamwork. However, these demands have also brought him into an adversarial relationship with a number of star players such as Paul Pogba and Mesut Özil.

Formations and adaptability

Mourinho’s Fenebache usually plays in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It is a formation and system that he used frequently during his time as manager in the Premier League and Serie A. It’s no wonder Mourinho insisted on transferring players who were used to performing at this level in the past.

Less common is that Mourinho has started games with a 4-4-2, 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-2-2 formation. The Portuguese has shown that he is willing to adapt his game plan to suit his team’s opponents. Fener also relied heavily on the team’s squad strength.

In the recent defeat against Besiktas, Mourinho almost split his team into five defensive players and five more attacking players. With two central defenders left to fend off through balls, Fener tried to dominate the middle of the pitch.

Fenerbahçe in defense

Mourinho is known for his defensive tactics. During his time in Turkey, the Portuguese coach tried to implement some of his more famous tactics to turn Fener’s defense into a fortress. It has worked many times, but this is still a work in progress.

Typically, Fenerbahce will try to compress the space. The aim is, firstly, not to let fast, technically skilled players play between the lines.

Secondly, Mourinho’s players will crowd the middle of the pitch to force the opponent to attack wide. This can often lead to Mourinho’s famous saying: “The team that has the ball is the one that takes the risk of making a mistake.”

Thirdly, Fenerbache’s attacking players will penetrate deeper, effectively forming a two-man support unit for the full-backs, who also tend to move higher up the pitch to apply pressure.

This means that, for example, Edin Dzeko and Allan Saint-Maximin, two of the team’s most technically demanding players, move between the left flank and the middle of the pitch, just in front of full-back Filip Kostic, to fend off attacks. The same thing happens on the opposite flank.

Mourinho likes to play with a back four. However, the defensive line often looks like a “deep three”, with the two central defenders intercepting attacking runs from the attackers and Sofyat Amrabat (or Yuksek or Fred) playing in front of them and acting as a deep-lying defender.

How well did this approach work? Although things can still improve, this is worth noting Fenerbache currently has the best defensive record in the Turkish Süper Lig. Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was in top form. It is simply the two defeats against main rivals Galatasaray and Besiktas that ensure that Fenerbache is not at the top of the league.

Fenerbahçe in attack

What type of striker does Jose Mourinho usually prefer? Ideally, he likes strikers who are strong, skilled and very disciplined.

To achieve this and attract them to Fenerbache, Mourinho relied on players and great strikers. However, most of them are either at the end of their careers, like Dzeko, or have been out of the top leagues for some time, like Saint-Maximin or Dusan Tadic.

It is worth noting that Fenerbahce’s attack plans look different depending on their opponents. They have a number of well-rehearsed tactics that they can rely on when trying to score goals.

As can be expected, Fenerbache is particularly dangerous on the counterattack. Players like Ismail Yuksek and Sebastian Szymanski manage around 1.7 and 2.5 tackles per game, respectively. When the ball is won back, the ball typically travels to the wings or to Tadic. Meanwhile, Dzeko, who is having a good season, will run past the defenders.

Building game

But how does Fenerbache attack when they have more possession? Mourinho wants the team to have a short, quick and simple passing game. Normally the central defenders make the first pass to the pivot players. The defensive midfielders are key to the build-up. They drop back or advance, often taking the press with them to create space for their teammates.

When in possession, Fenerbache likes to operate in a 4-3-3. The striker is Edin Dzeko, who despite his age is the clear choice if he is fit. Saint-Maximin always plays on the left side. Meanwhile, Tadic or Aydin will be moved to the right wing and an attacking midfielder will be left to pull it all together.

It’s a simple approach, but one that often works. Dzeko scored eight goals. He enjoys 2.7 shots per goal and 1.2 key passes. At 38 years old, that’s more than impressive.

Meanwhile, Dusan Tadidc, who is 36 years old and can play in various attacking roles, has scored seven goals and provided five assists. The Serbian is usually the player who wants to make a great through ball or find spaces that require a return and a shot.

What’s next for Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce?

Jose Mourinho’s arrival in Turkey caused great excitement among fans. Let’s be clear: Mourinho remains a manager who gets results, although not in every competition as the team’s fans and board may wish.

This will be a tough season. Fenerbache faces strong resistance from Galatasaray and Besiktas. But the team has everything it needs to succeed, including a number of quality players that make Fenerbahce a highly competitive team.

There were many exciting performances, but defeats against the team’s biggest rivals and lack of success in the Europa League will not be overlooked. It will be fascinating to see how Mourinho uses the rest of his time in Turkey.