“That culture makes it fun,” Jose Mourinho said after receiving a rapturous welcome from around 30,000 feral Fenerbahce fans at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in June. “It’s for the president, the directors, the board to be stable and to be balanced, but not the fans. They have to be crazy. They have to be demanding, to put pressure on us. That passion is part of my motivation.”
Mourinho used that "passion" as fuel during his previous spells at Roma, Chelsea, Inter and Porto. He tends to pick clubs with fanatical supporters who are capable of being 'the 12th man' for his team and goes to great lengths to connect with them; in this case, calling Fenerbahce's jersey "my skin".
But the truth is, he didn't have many options left after being sacked by Roma in January. Long gone are the days when Mourinho was considered the best manager in the world. Most of Europe's top clubs won't even go near him anymore, fearing a repeat of the toxic atmosphere he's generated in more recent roles.
Fenerbahce chose to ignore the obvious signs of decline because of the weight Mourinho's name still holds, but the honeymoon period has barely lasted three months. The Mourinho circus is engulfing the club already, and Erik ten Hag's Manchester United will certainly have nothing to fear when they come up against their former boss in the Europa League on Thursday.