With the European Championship just concluded and the Paris Olympics about to kick off, the sporting fever is still raging. Many may not have noticed that the 2024-25 Champions League season has already begun. On July 22, the draw for the third qualifying round of the new season’s Champions League was announced. For José Mourinho and his Fenerbahçe, this is undoubtedly a headache.
If Fenerbahçe can defeat Lugano of Switzerland in the second qualifying round, their next opponent in the third round of the Champions League qualifying round will be the powerful Ligue 1 side Lille. Although Lille is no longer led by Fonseca and has lost the help of Yoro, its squad is still strong, including numerous stars such as Chevalier, Thiago Santos, Ángel Gomes, Zhegrova and Jonathan David.
If they get past Lille, Fenerbahçe will face one of the winners from the following three pairings: Slavia Prague vs. St. Gilloise United, Red Bull Salzburg vs. Twente, and Dynamo Kyiv/Partizan Belgrade vs. Glasgow Rangers.
Fenerbahçe’s management has helped Mourinho build a team that can re-ignite fans’ passion. Particularly in the attacking line, they have brought in several strong players to assist veteran scorers Dusan Tadic and Edin Džeko.
New signing Allan Saint-Maximin will join on loan and is expected to wreak havoc on the left flank. The transfer of En-Nesyri seems to be only a matter of time. They have also brought in Serdar Dursun and retained the impressive Cengiz Ünder from the European Championship, as well as core players like goalkeeper Dominik Livaković and midfielder Fred.
Currently, Fenerbahçe’s priority is to secure a win over Lugano. History is full of examples of strong teams being eliminated in the qualifying rounds, such as Marseille last year. However, Mourinho and his Fenerbahçe are well aware that Lille will be a major obstacle on their path to the Champions League group stage. To achieve their goal of qualifying, they must be fully committed and give it their all.
This article is from a user submission and does not represent the views of Soccer News Pick. If you repost it, please indicate the source: https://www.soccernewspick.com/uefa-champions-league/14323.html
