"Welcome to hell": Mourinho becomes a Dutch nightmare

José Mourinho advanced to the Champions League playoffs with Fenerbahce. IMAGO/DeFodi Images

"I always see you unhappy after the second leg," José Mourinho jokingly told a Dutch reporter following Fenerbahce's 2-1 first-leg defeat . "But we've become good friends, haven't we? So, welcome to Istanbul, welcome to Kadikoy, welcome to hell." The media representatives laughed, Mourinho grinned mischievously—and he was right.

The atmosphere in the stadium was oppressive from the first minute, with every touch of the ball by the visitors accompanied by a deafening chorus of whistles. "Compared to last season, our fans were decisive today," acknowledged the Portuguese. "When we went down 1-0, the score was 3-1 on aggregate." However, thanks in part to the supporters, there was "a positive atmosphere on the pitch. That was the difference from last season," said Mourinho, who overall called it a deserved progress.

I think my streak against them is a coincidence.

The fact that even a first-leg win against a Mourinho team means nothing was something that the Rotterdam team was already aware of before Tuesday evening's clash. Feyenoord has now had the "pleasure" of facing "The Special One" in knockout format three times, losing the first leg three times but celebrating their place in the next round in the return leg. Added to that is the 2022 Conference League final victory, when Mourinho was still coaching AS Roma ( 1-0 ).

"I think my streak against them is a coincidence," the 62-year-old explained. With the exception of the 1997 European Cup Winners' Cup final ( Barcelona's 1-0 victory over Paris ), in which Mourinho served as assistant to Barca head coach Bobby Robson , he "didn't win a single game in Rotterdam." But—and this is the crux of the matter—"I always won the second game of the round and advanced."

Speaking of Robson: Mourinho snatched a record from his former boss on Tuesday. The 5-2 win against Rotterdam marked the Portuguese's eleventh victory in 16 international encounters with a Dutch team – and thus the top spot in this category. Until recently, Mourinho had shared the record with Robson, who had won ten times in 16 matches.

"The Special One" could extend this streak further in the final round of the Champions League, which features two Eredivisie participants, Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven. First, however, Fenerbahce must survive the two play-off ties with Benfica Lisbon – a strong opponent who, in Mourinho's view, will also likely be "unhappy" about having to compete in the "hell" of Kadikoy.