Jose Mourinho: “We came here to win the match”

In the first match of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, Fenerbahçe will face Switzerland’s Lugano team away tomorrow. The team’s coach, Jose Mourinho, stated, “We came here to win the match.”

Fenerbahçe will be up against Switzerland’s Lugano team in the first match of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League tomorrow. At the press conference held at Thun Stadium, head coach Jose Mourinho and defender Alexander Djiku made statements. Mourinho noted that everyone in the team is working hard to do their best, saying, “So far, we have completed about 30 training sessions and 5 friendly matches. I am very happy with the performance shown by every player in each training. Everyone is doing their best to improve and adapt to me. Players joined the team step by step. There were players who arrived as we were eliminated from the European Championship. We have only done 3 training sessions with the last group of players who joined. We have enjoyed the work we have done since the first day. It is important to start well tomorrow; we have conducted our training with this type of matches in mind.”

The Portuguese coach stated that he did not adjust the game plan according to the return match, saying, “Our first thought is tomorrow’s match. I am not thinking about the return match in Istanbul right now. We came to win tomorrow’s match.”

When reminded that the match will be played on synthetic grass, Mourinho said, “The fact that it will be played on synthetic grass is the home team’s choice; they probably think it is an advantage for them. Football should always be played on a beautiful, green field. There are still clubs trying to use this as an advantage. We also need to adapt to this. We trained in places where the ground is dry; the ball moves slower compared to a green field, but we need to adapt to this and go out to win tomorrow’s match.”

Mourinho concluded his remarks by thanking Lugano’s head coach Mattia Croci-Torti for saying he looks up to him, stating, “Thank you for the nice words. I also believe he will be a very good coach. The team plays very organized. Lugano is a very meaningful city for me; during my years at Inter, my children studied in Lugano. I would come to pick them up from time to time. It is a meaningful place for me.”

Alexander Djiku: “Our goal is to win all matches at home and away.”

Fenerbahçe’s Ghanaian defender Alexander Djiku expressed their desire to start official matches well by defeating Lugano, stating, “Fenerbahçe is a big team, and big teams have great players. This increases competition, and competition benefits the team. All players are trying to give their best. Lugano is a good team; looking at last season, they finished second in the league and are a team that scores a lot of goals. We are eagerly looking forward to tomorrow’s match. We feel ready, and we want to start well with our first official match. Our goal is to win all matches at home and away.”