Feyenoord faces a tough task in the third qualifying round of the Champions League against Fenerbahçe, based on past results. The Turkish club is coached by José Mourinho, who has extremely good statistics against Dutch clubs and has never lost a two-legged tie against an Eredivisie team.
It was a wonderful evening for AZ last November at the AFAS Stadion. Partly due to the excelling teenager Kees Smit, trainer Maarten Martens’ team won 3-1 against Fenerbahçe. However, Mourinho was absent at that time due to a suspension.
When Mourinho is on the bench, things usually go wrong for a Dutch club. With Real Madrid, Mourinho faced Ajax five times in the Champions League, and the Spanish top club won all encounters. Mourinho also won against Ajax with Manchester United. In 2017, his team defeated the Amsterdam club in the final of the Europa League (0-2).
Feyenoord, which was drawn against Fenerbahçe in the Champions League draw in Nyon on Monday, has fared slightly better against Mourinho over the years. However, the Rotterdam team also has a far from positive balance. In 2016, Feyenoord defeated Mourinho’s United 1-0, after which the Rotterdam club lost 4-0 at Old Trafford two months later.
In 2022, Feyenoord played one of its most important matches ever against Mourinho, and that was also lost. The Rotterdam team lost in the final of the Conference League 1-0 to the AS Roma of the Portuguese manager. The Italian team eliminated Feyenoord a year later under Mourinho’s leadership in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Mourinho was also too strong for Vitesse with Roma in 2022 in the eighth finals of the Conference League. A rare Dutch highlight against Mourinho was the 1-1 draw of FC Twente last year against Fenerbahçe.
Two former Feyenoord players at Fenerbahçe
The 62-year-old Mourinho has been the coach of Fenerbahçe since the summer of 2024, which finished second in the Turkish Süper Lig last year. Sofyan Amrabat and Sebastian Szymanski, two former Feyenoord players, are under contract with the club from Istanbul.
The first leg of the two-legged tie between Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe is on August 5 or 6 in De Kuip. The return match in Istanbul is scheduled for August 12.
If Feyenoord is eliminated, it will play in the main tournament of the Europa League next season. If Feyenoord gets through the third qualifying round, it still has to survive a play-off to reach the main tournament of the Champions League.