Newly appointed Fenerbahçe manager Jose Mourinho asserted on Monday that his arrival and renowned status would significantly elevate the profile of the Turkish league.
He expressed his determination to secure victory in the Süper Lig and advance to the Champions League group stage in the upcoming season.
Mourinho, 61, was officially introduced as Fenerbahçe's manager in a vibrant ceremony attended by thousands of fans on Sunday.
The veteran Portuguese manager had been without a team since his dismissal from the Italian Serie A club AS Roma in January.
Addressing the media at Fenerbahçe's headquarters in Istanbul, Mourinho emphasized that he was not making any specific promises but was instead offering "immense commitment, passion, hard work and understanding."
He declared that his goal in choosing Türkiye was to immerse himself in the competitive environment.
"One of the things is, I bring attention with me. More people in Europe will follow the Turkish league," Mourinho said. "I'm coming to work for Turkish football, for the Turkish Süper Lig. But fundamentally, I come for Fenerbahçe.
"My wish is that Turkish football improves at every level. But if I have to raise my voice to defend Fenerbahçe, I will not think twice," he added, in an apparent reference to the club's complaints over what it calls unfairness.
The Süper Lig was marred by controversies last season, with a spate of violence and disputes overshadowing the narrow title fight between Fenerbahçe and bitter rivals Galatasaray.
Galatasaray clinched the championship last month, on the final matchday of the season.
Mourinho said the upcoming European Championship would limit training and that he would be able to make squad changes only at the start of next season, adding that his main goals were winning the league and making the Champions League group stages, for which Fenerbahçe will play playoffs.
"When people look at me – I did six finals, I won five of them – people think immediately big, but I think we have to go step by step, and of course, the qualifications and playoffs are going to be hard simply because we have no time to prepare," he said.
Asked how he would teach fans to be patient, after the club's failure to win a championship for more than a decade, Mourinho said the fans had to be "crazy" and "demanding."
"You can't teach what doesn't belong to the culture, and that is what makes it fun," he said. "I want that passion."
