José Mourinho is set to become the new Benfica head coach after being sacked by Fenerbahçe, according to Ben Jacobs. Ironically, the self-acclaimed “Special One” started his coaching career at Benfica in 2000. Even more ironic is that Benfica and Fenerbahçe met in the Champions League qualification round two, where Benfica won 1–0 and advanced to the Champions League thanks to Kerem Aturoğlu’s lone goal.
What makes it funnier is that Kerem had initially wanted to join Fenerbahçe but eventually moved there on Benfica’s terms—after eliminating them from the Champions League. Another twist is that Aturoğlu previously played for Galatasaray for four years and was even their captain at one point before moving to Benfica.
To add more irony, Galatasaray was the club that brought him from the Turkish Super Lig 3rd division into the Turkish national team. He had also reportedly called out Fenerbahçe during his time at Galatasaray—and even a few months after leaving Gala—saying they were “following the wrong path.” Another layer of irony: he had scored against Fenerbahçe in a friendly just weeks earlier and celebrated the goal. But after agreeing to a salary three times higher at Fenerbahçe, he suddenly declared himself a lifelong fan—“footballers 😂😂.”
Mourinho was reportedly sacked not only because of his loss to Benfica but also for publicly criticizing Fenerbahçe’s management for failing to provide him with reinforcements for the Champions League match. Notably, Mourinho had pushed for Kerem, but Fener refused to pay what Benfica had asked—after Benfica made him ineligible to play against them by fielding him as a substitute in the first qualifying round. Ironically, after being knocked into the Europa League and sacking Mourinho, Fenerbahçe ended up signing Kerem for the same fee Benfica had originally demanded. Not just that they apparently also lost money usually paid to UCL participants to Benfica and apparently their rivals Galatasaray also had a share in the money they paid to Benfica for kerem
This is football: a game of irony.Anything can actually happen, anytime, anyday