- Turkey start their Euro 2024 campaign against Georgia in Dortmund on Tuesday
- Mourinho was confirmed as Fenerbahce boss before the start of tournament
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! Were England good in their opener or is the criticism fair?
Turkey will be keen to regain the confidence of their fans – and the wider footballing public – when they begin their Euro 2024 campaign against Georgia on Tuesday evening.
Vincenzo Montella’s side will be confident of dispatching the major tournament debutants in Dortmund with their talented side that includes stars from Manchester United, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
The Italian has not shied away from selecting players currently plying their trade in the Turkish top flight. Fourteen in all have been chosen by Montella and of that group five will have the added motivation of impressing their new club manager Jose Mourinho.
The legendary Portuguese boss was confirmed as Fenerbahce’s new manager earlier this month and he arrives in Turkey to much fanfare.
Known for his ruthlessness as much as his knack for winning trophies, Mourinho will no doubt be checking out his Fenerbahce players with some interest over the tournament.
Defenders Samet Akaydin, Mert Muldur and defensive midfielder Ismail Yuksek have featured prominently since Montella took over last September. While Ferdi Kadioglu and Irfan Kahvec aare yet to feature under the Italian.
Mourinho replaced Ismail Kartal after Fener finished second in the Turkish Super Lig for the third successive year.
He attracted tens of thousands of fans to his unveiling on earlier this month after putting pen to paper on a reported two-year deal.
It sees the Portuguese return to management five months after he was sacked by Roma. In an unconventional move, the club’s president Ali Koc has revealed to the world the exact sum they offered to tempt Mourinho.
‘Other clubs other than us met with Mourinho. Besiktas also contacted him,’ Koc began.
‘Aziz Yıldırım and Sadettin Saran also met. But we met before all of these. We made a much more suitable offer than the offer made by Aziz Yıldırım and he accepted it.
‘Mourinho was impressed by our dreams. We gave him and his entire team €12million annually.’
It is unclear from his comment if that €12m is exclusively for Mourinho or if it is shared among his backroom team.