Thousands of fans pack into Fenerbahce stadium to see Jose Mourinho become boss

By Carl Markham, PA

Thousands of fans packed into Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul to witness Jose Mourinho signing his contract to become their new manager.

The two-time Champions League-winning boss, who was sacked by Roma in January, is reported to have signed a two-year deal.

“I want to thank you for your love. Normally a coach is loved after victories. In this case I feel that I am loved before the victories. That for me is a big responsibility that I feel,” Mourinho told the assembled crowd.

“I promise you from this moment, I belong to your family. This shirt is my skin. Football is passion and there is no better place to feel that passion.

“Since the moment I met the president, I wanted to play for you because you are the soul of the football club. I want to be the coach of all of you.

“I want to work in Turkish football. I want to help the Turkish league. But the most important thing for me is Fenerbahce.

“From the moment I sign my contract, your dreams are now my dreams.”

The 61-year-old flew in on Sunday from his stint as a television pundit at the Champions League final at Wembley.

While there he told Sky Sports about the difficulty Fenerbahce face in trying to qualify for next season’s competition.

“(It is) hard because we have three rounds of qualifying and in Fenerbahce’s case, eight players are at the Euros and they are not coming for pre-season before the first round,” he said.

“If I go, you know that I like challenges so we are going to fight to be in the Champions League.”