Philip Cocu's contract as Fenerbahçe coach has been terminated after only four months and with that there are no longer any foreign managers left in Turkey's top tier Super League.
The former Dutch international has paid the price for the Istanbul giants enduring one of the worst starts to a season in their 111-year history. The 47-year-old Cocu, who only took over in June, has seen Fenerbahçe, one of the country's traditional footballing powerhouses, slump to 15th in the Turkish Super League, just one spot above the relegation zone.
The club made the announcement on Twitter after suffering a 3-1 defeat at home to Ankaragücü, their fifth defeat in the 10 games played so far this season. Cocu, who had a distinguished playing career with Barcelona and the Netherlands, coached PSV Eindhoven with considerable success between 2013 and 2018, carrying them to three Eredivisie titles before joining Fenerbahçe on a three-year deal.
Fenerbahçe Vice Chairman Semih Özsoy said after the announcement, "Philip Cocu has paid the price for the situation we're in now. The anger of the fans affected our decision. Our players also must pull themselves together."
According to Turkish media, the Fenerbahçe administration is mulling giving the top job to Tayfun Korkut, a former player of the club.
If they don't hire Korkut, the club will offer to Leonardo Jardim, according to media reports. The 44-year-old Korkut worked for Hannover, Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart.
Meanwhile, the only other foreign coach, Saffet Susic was fired by Akhisarspor on Sept. 17.
