If he is going to be a local coach, İsmail Kartal will be the one!

Created: September 08, 2025 07:00

Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç stated that they will announce their decision on the new coach today and that if their choice is a local player, that name will be İsmail Kartal .

Speaking at an event organized as part of his election campaign, Koç, referring to his first term as president, said, “Coach Aykut had Fenerbahçe in second place. We couldn't make transfers. We could only buy as many players as we sold. We should have continued with Aykut Kocaman at that time. But if you look back at the circumstances of that time, we lost to Akhisarspor in the Turkish Cup final. People weren't happy with the football being played. Just like with Jose Mourinho. Change was needed. I should have waited another year.”

If we are re-elected, the boils will be crushed

Koç, stating that they've reached the final stages of their search for a manager, said, "Everything will be clear within 24 hours. If our new coach is a local player, İsmail Hoca (Kartal) has the right to do so. However, due to the large number of foreign players on the team, our search for a foreign coach continues." Koç also noted that Luciano Spalletti, their first choice for manager, has decided not to work this season, adding, "There are very good Portuguese coaches, but our club doesn't want to hear Portuguese names anymore. That's why we've turned to the German school."

Koç also said, "If we are re-elected, the boils will be squashed; this will not continue! Those who did everything they could to harm the club on July 3rd are now trying to direct the community."

WE SENT MOURINHO OFF BECAUSE HE PLAYED DEFENSIVELY

Fenerbahçe President Ali Koç , who parted ways with Jose Mourinho , the manager he brought in with high hopes, explained for the first time how he came to this decision. Koç said, “It’s a painful departure. Our chemistry was a perfect match. We knew our manager was a defensive player when we brought him in. But we discussed the need to play more dominantly at the end of the season. Collecting 99 points with 99 goals is our genetic code. Being eliminated by Benfica wasn't a problem, but the way we were eliminated was unacceptable. This made me feel like last year's football would continue. We parted ways because we believed this squad would play even better.

YOUNGER AND FASTER

Responding to claims that he invested heavily in transfers to win the election, Koç explained, "The transfers weren't made for the election. We wanted to get younger, get faster, and look for players with higher football intelligence. We shaped our squad accordingly."