José Mourinho, coach of Fenerbahçe (AFP)
Arriving on the Fenerbahçe bench last summer, José Mourinho experiences the passion of the Istanbul supporters up close. The Portuguese coach wants the fans of the Turkish club to positively push his players in order to overthrow OL.
To know José’s opinion Mourinho on Peter Sage or the dynamics of OL, we will have to come back. This Wednesday, the Portugal coach preceded his Lyon counterpart for the traditional pre-match conference. However, no question from Turkish journalists revolved directly around the Rhone formation, focusing essentially on Fenerbahce. OL's dynamic in recent weeks seems to matter little in Istanbul. The fate of the Istanbul club in this Europa League a little more. With eight points in six games and a 21st place in the standings, the “Fener” is still far from being assured of the play-offs. Asked about the question, Mourinho believes that his team must “normally take two points from the last two matches. However, the trip to Midtjylland risks being very cold with few supporters, so we have to do the job on Thursday against a solid Lyon team.”
“The public's passion can be positive or negative…”
Faced with numerous injuries, particularly in the defensive sector, José Mourinho knows that the task promises to be difficult despite Lyon's recent difficulties. The former coach of Chelsea or Real Madrid therefore expects popular support to limit the impact of absences in his group. “The public, it's up to them to help us, it's up to them to support the team which finds itself without 10 players, it's up to them to give us special energy in a difficult moment. It's a match in which we need them. Their passion can be positive or negative and we have experienced both situations at home. I ask them, especially for tomorrow (Thursday), to express this passion in a positive way, by supporting. the players, because tomorrow will be difficult.”
-Enough to bring down OL in search of direct qualification for the eighth? Response Thursday evening.
