Another remarkable gameweek of Super Lig football has come and gone, with Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho taking centre stage yet again in remarkable fashion. Meanwhile, on a weekend when Galatasaray didn’t play, Besiktas missed a huge opportunity.
Due to the odd number of teams in the Super Lig, it was two-time champions and league leaders Galatasaray who weren’t in action on the weekend, meaning title chasers Fenerbahce and Besiktas had the chance to close the gap down to five points.
Mourinho’s Fener had a trip to the out-of-form Trabzonspor on Sunday; a fixture drenched in deep hatred a history of controversies and drama. The most recent incident came back in March when Trabzonspor fans stormed the pitch and attacked Fenerbahce players after a 3-2 home loss.
And after another truly riveting contest, Fenerbahce claimed a hugely important win – by exactly the same scoreline.
Midfielder Fred gave them the lead at the end of the first half, but Trabzonspor hit back with two penalties from Simon Banza to flip the match on its head.
However, substitute Edin Dzeko levelled the game in the 75th minute, and with the game looking like it was heading for a draw, Sofyan Amrabat broke Trabzon hearts with a 102nd-minute winner.
A massively significant victory, as Fenerbahce were seconds away from being seven points behind Galatasaray. A five-point gap is certainly better than seven.
And Mourinho seemingly recognised that. In typical Jose fashion, the Portuguese manager ran onto the pitch, failing a knee slide and embracing his players as they celebrated manically.
But throughout the game, Mourinho cut an extremely angry figure, complaining to the referee after a number of decisions didn’t go his team’s way. They should most certainly have had a penalty after a handball in the box, but there was nothing else too dubious that warranted what was to come.
In multiple press conferences after the match, Mourinho made his feelings known, destroying Turkish referees and Turkish football in general.
“I blame the Fenerbahce people that brought me here,” said Mourinho. “They told me only half of the truth.
“They didn’t tell me the whole truth because if they told me the whole truth, I wouldn’t come. But, with half of the truth and my boys, we fight opponents and the system.
“He (the referee) was alert to give the two penalty decisions which the referee didn’t give and then he was having Turkish tea when it was a clear penalty for us and he didn’t give it.”
He continued: “The man of the match was Atilla Karaoglan. We didn’t see him but he was the referee. The referee was just a little boy that was there on the pitch, but the referee was Atilla Karaoglan.”
“He goes from the invisible man to the most important man in the match.
“I think I am speaking on behalf of every Fenerbahce fan – we don’t want him again.
“We don’t want him as a VAR. We don’t want him on the pitch but, on the VAR, even less.”
He then proceeded to rip the Super Lig to shreds.
“Nobody abroad wants to watch the Turkish league,” he claimed.
“Who wants to watch this Turkish league abroad? They have the Premier League, they have the French league, they have the German league, they have the Portuguese league, they have the Dutch league. Why should they see this?
“It’s too grey. It’s too dark, smells bad. But that’s my job, and I will give everything to my job, to my club.”
First and foremost, his comments on the Super Lig are a disgrace. He is one of the most high-profile figures to ever join the league. He should be shedding a positive light on it and promoting it. It isn’t often Turkey gets someone as significant as Mourinho. So for him to degrade it so badly is a horrible look for Turkish football. Especially when his comments come from conspiracy theories and frustrations from his and the club’s own failures.
Fenerbahce haven’t won the league in a decade, which is an abject failure for a club of their size. So instead of blaming themselves, they have created a victim culture, citing corruption within the league and referees as the reason for their lack of silverware.
Jose Mourinho is a shadow of the manager he once was. He has one trophy in the last seven years – the UEFA Conference League. Instead of recognising it is because he is no longer an elite coach and can’t get a job at a European heavyweight team, he blames UEFA, referees and corruption.
It is a match made in heaven. It didn’t take Mourinho long to join in with the delusion of Fenerbahce, and now they’ve become an insane two-headed monster.
Besiktas stumble
So while Fenerbahce managed to take advantage and pick up three points, Besiktas suffered a damaging 3-1 loss at home to Kasimpasa, with winger Mamadou Fall scoring a goal and assisting twice. The result means that Besiktas have now lost their last three matches to Kasimpasa.
It was a largely tepid and uninspiring performance from Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men, and coming off the back of their first loss in the league last week at Galatasaray. A serious wake-up call that they are perhaps still just too far away from winning the title.
But one team who just keeps motoring on are Samsunspor. A comfortable 2-0 win against Antalyaspor solidified their spot in second, moving just three points off top spot having played a game more.
Unbeaten in their last seven games with six wins and a draw, they continue to defy expectations under German coach Thomas Reis. And this weekend, they face the ultimate test: an away trip to Galatasaray.
Highlight of the Week
High-flying Goztepe succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Gaziantep on Friday, and Juan Santos will be having sleepless nights after missing an absolute sitter in the 95th minute to snatch a draw for his team.
Team of the Week
Konyaspor winger Alassane Ndao is the player of the week after bagging a hat-trick in his side’s 3-2 win over Istanbul Basaksehir.
Samsunspor have three players in the team, while Arda Turan’s Super Lig debutants Eyupspor have two players following a victory that saw them move into fifth.
