Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce, led by their new manager Jose Mourinho, travels to face Swiss contenders FC Lugano in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. The first leg is set for Tuesday, 23 July, at the Stockhorn Arena, 82 miles away from Lugano.
Both clubs finished second in their domestic leagues last season and are now bidding to qualify for the newly formatted Champions League group phase.
With that said, the winner of this tie will face Ligue 1 side Lille in the third qualifying round.
FC Lugano, runners-up in the Swiss Super League, just began their season with a morale-boosting 2-1 comeback win over Grasshopper Zurich, thanks to a last-gasp winner from Uran Bislimi.
However, due to stadium renovations, Lugano will play their European matches at Thun's Stockhorn Arena for the next two years.
With six second-place finishes compared to three titles (the last one won in 1948-49), they surely wish to end their 75-year title drought, but the importance of their first Champions League participation in over 20 years (and second-ever) is not to be underestimated.
Meanwhile, head coach Mattia Croci-Torti guided Lugano to a third consecutive Swiss Cup final last season. Since the club lifted the Swiss Cup on 15 May 2022, 29 years after their last trophy win, Lugano has lost back-to-back finals, including a dramatic penalty shootout to Servette last month (early June).
While their potential title bid last season was hindered by defensive issues, Lugano had a mixed pre-season. They lost to Inter Milan but won against Bellinzona and Parma.
Lugano will likely field the same lineup that beat Grasshoppers. Ignacio Aliseda will lead the attack, supported by Yanis Cimignani and captain Mattia Bottani. New signing Daniel Dos Santos is in contention for a midfield spot. However, Shkelqim Vladi is injured and experienced Switzerland international Renato Steffen is on extended leave after Euro 2024.
Jose Mourinho is set to make his official debut as Fenerbahce boss when the Turkish giants travel to Switzerland this week. The famous Portuguese tactician was officially unveiled as Fenerbahce's new manager and presented to the fans during a special ceremony at the Sukrü Saracoglu Stadium last month.
Despite collecting a total of 99 points, scoring the same number of goals, and losing just one of their 38 top-flight matches, The Yellow Canaries finished second in the Turkish Super Lig last season-just three points behind arch-rivals Galatasaray.
Still, Fenerbahce was extremely close to winning their first Super Lig title in 10 years (since 2013-14) under the guidance of Istanbul-born manager Ismail Kartal, who ended his third managerial spell at the club.
Recognized for his impressive track record, having clinched all three major UEFA club trophies, Mourinho is determined to lead Fenerbahce to Champions League glory and reclaim the Turkish title from Galatasaray.
Mourinho has strengthened the squad with new signings like Caglar Soyuncu, Levent Mercan, Rade Krunic, and Allan Saint-Maximin.
Captain Edin Dzeko scored 25 goals across all competitions last season, and the Bosnian veteran should lead the line, most likely supported by Ryan Kent, Sebastian Szyma?ski, and Dusan Tadic.
All in all, Lugano have failed to win any of their last 8 European home matches (losing five) and have scored in just one of them - a 3-1 loss to Club Brugge in the Europa Conference League group last season. Their poor home form also includes a 2-0 defeat to another Turkish giant - Besiktas - but the Swiss side won 3-2 in Istanbul.
With Mourinho at the helm, Fenerbahce are poised to secure a first-leg advantage. Considering Lugano's defensive struggles last season, their early exit from the Conference League and their disappointing home form in European games - Fenerbahce are rightly favored to win.
However, Fenerbahce had to endure their own struggles over the years. They also failed to win any of their last seven Champions League away games (losing five) and have won just one of the last 13 - a 4-1 victory over Romanian side Vaslui în August 2012.
