Does the circus make the clown, or the clown make the circus? In the case of Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce, this is chicken-or-egg territory, for both became what they are before this remarkable, unravelling union.
It is a captivating watch, this spectacle, with Mourinho not only reprising the role best seen at Manchester United and Tottenham, but giving the performance of a lifetime, grabbing headlines and noses. Making sure anything but the result, the actual performance, is talked about afterwards.
Sounds familiar, right? But it wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time the same old story for Mourinho was heading to different countries around Europe and winning the league wherever he went.
From Porto to Chelsea, to Inter Milan, Real Madrid and back to Chelsea, Mourinho won eight league titles in 12 years, lifting a host of domestic cups along the way and prevailing twice in the Champions League.
Jose Mourinho’dan Okan Buruk’a fiziksel müdahale! #FBvGS pic.twitter.com/6bqDZRj2CM
— A Spor (@aspor) April 2, 2025
Mourinho has never lasted more than three years at one club in a single stint. The narrative that once hovered above the charismatic Portuguese manager has come to define his past 10 years in the dugout, where the silverware has relatively dried up – on account of still winning lesser European competitions – and the antics have taken centre stage.
Now the same old story for Mourinho is heading to different countries and creating drama wherever he goes, with the lasting image of his latest chapter at Fenerbahce coming on Wednesday night, when he reached out and “pinched” Okan Buruk on the nose after the Turkish Cup defeat to Galatasaray.
And just take a look at the picture below. You’ll see Mourinho, in his natural state mid-protest, and where is his rival manager, you may ask? Well. On the ground, holding his face. Naturally.
A ban awaits, but for Mourinho’s next trick, will he disappear entirely? Not likely.
“I don’t think he’s trying to get sacked,” Turkish football expert Kaan Bayazit tells The i Paper.
“If he was he wouldn’t be picking these fights. Creating controversy is not something Fenerbahce shies away from. They were doing it before Mourinho, so this is exactly what they want, and it is only going to lead to him getting a prolonged stay because at least a portion of the fans will buy into it.
Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk falls to the ground after getting his nose pinched by Jose Mourinho (Photo: Getty)“Fenerbahce fans are very passionate, very emotional. At times their mentality is like that of a wrestling fan, when you see the hero and the villain, and you’re invested in this huge narrative. They’re so emotionally involved that they’ll back Mourinho no matter what.”
Fenerbahce are now out of the Turkish Cup as well as the Europa League – having lost to Rangers – and in their pursuit of a first league title since 2013-14, Mourinho’s main mission, they are currently six points behind Galatasaray, albeit with a game in hand.
Mourinho has struggled in the big games. As well as losing to Galatasaray in the cup, they have drawn and lost to their fiercest rivals in the league, while a 1-0 defeat to Besiktas in December could also prove costly.
“Expectations were a lot higher,” Bayazit adds. “At least for me personally, I’m very disappointed with the fire that his team has shown on the pitch in these very big derby matches.
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“He’s largely being seen right now as a failure because he has come up short time and time again.”
The frustration is magnified by how close Fenerbahce came to glory last season. Under Ismail Kartal, they racked up an astonishing 99 points. In any normal season, it would have been enough to win the title, but Galatasaray went one better, three better in fact, reaching 102 points for a record-breaking triumph.
Mourinho’s summer arrival after Fenerbahce parted company with Kartal was supposed to be the final piece of the puzzle, but the team has regressed. “If you saw how they defended on Wednesday,” says Bayazit, “it was childish.”
Mourinho has nevertheless created a siege mentality, a signature tactic through the years that has found a willing audience.
“Fenerbahce fans are a separate breed. They are very much in this ‘us against them’ mentality,” Bayazit says, noting that the club enjoys playing into conspiracies.
Club presidents have long fed the idea that they are unfairly treated by referees and the league are biased towards Galatasaray, five-time league winners since Fenerbahce’s last triumph.
Mourinho has seamlessly joined this set-up, arguably even taking it up a notch. He said the Turkish league “smells bad” in November – “Who wants to watch this league abroad? It’s too grey, it’s too dark” – and then questioned the quality of officials when Fenerbahce and Galatasaray previously met in February.
Mourinho was subsequently accused of racism by Galatasaray. In turn, he took legal action against the Turkish club and stressed he is the “opposite” of a racist following the allegations.
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Meanwhile, the comments in question – he said the club’s bench were “jumping like monkeys” and also claimed Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic did better than Turkish officials – resulted in a four-game touchline ban that was eventually halved by the Turkish Football Federation.
What should be a sideshow has therefore become the main attraction in Turkish football, with Galatasaray playing up to the drama as well.
“Buruk and Galatasaray are doing the exact same thing,” adds Bayazit.
“Galatasaray, as soon as they drop points, if they have a bad day and drop points, they’re crying as well. And it’s always everyone else’s fault but theirs.
“The whole thing with the racism accusations last month was ridiculous. That was Galatasaray trying to spin the narrative.
“These two clubs deserve each other in how they behave like children because they are doing the exact same thing, they are both equally bad in lashing out like little kids.”
And with the title race going down to the wire, there is little to suggest this commotion will subside.
If anything, it will only intensify, and even if Mourinho does not get the better of Galatasaray this time, history tells us he will give it at least one more season.
That means more headlines, more theatre, and the same new Mourinho doing it his way until he’s eventually given the boot, with titles or none.
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