On Sunday, Fenerbahce clearly lost the Istanbul derby at Galatasaray 0:3. On Monday, the club drew the consequences and parted ways with coach Domenico Tedesco.
“We have parted ways with head coach Domenico Tedesco and his coaching staff,” Fenerbahce Istanbul announced on its website on Monday evening. “We thank them for their commitment to our club and wish them all the best for their professional future. We have also decided to end our collaboration with sporting director Devin Özek and soccer coordinator Berke Celebi.”
The 3-0 loss in the explosive derby was a hard blow for Fener. The gap to leaders Galatasaray is now seven points three matchdays before the end of the season. Although the championship is still mathematically possible, it is not very realistic. Fenerbahce only finished second behind their city rivals in the league last season as well.
Fenerbahce parted ways with coach José Mourinho at the end of August 2025. His successor was Tedesco, who was supposed to lead the team back to first place in the league. Fenerbahce only lost two games this season, but ten draws were simply too many to keep up with leaders Galatasaray.
For the remaining three matches this season, assistant coach Zeki Murat Göle will be in charge of the team. Fenerbahce still play against Basaksehir, at Konyaspor and on the final matchday against Eyüspor.
Cup winners 2022 with Leipzig
After spells in the youth ranks at VfB Stuttgart and TSG Hoffenheim, Tedesco first attracted attention in the men’s game at Erzgebirge Aue in 2017. He then moved on to FC Schalke 04, where he stayed until March 2019 before joining Spartak Moscow. He then returned to Germany in December 2021 and coached RB Leipzig, winning the cup with the Saxons in 2022.
His time in Leipzig was over again in September 2022, however. Tedesco was out of work for a few months and then returned in February 2023 as Belgium’s national team coach. He stayed there for almost two years before his time there also came to an end in January 2025. After almost eight months in Istanbul, he is once again without a club.