Thousands of fans have packed into Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul to witness José Mourinho signing his contract to become their new manager. Mourinho, a Champions League winner with Porto and Internazionale, has been out of work since being sacked by Roma in January. He is reported to have signed a two-year deal, with the Super Lig club confirming his arrival on Sunday morning. “I want to thank you for your love,” Mourinho told the crowd at his unveiling. “Normally a coach is loved after victories. In this case I feel that I am loved before the victories. That for me is a big responsibility that I feel. “I promise you from this moment, I belong to your family. This shirt is my skin. Football is passion, and there is no better place [than here] to feel that passion. Since the moment I met the president, I wanted to play for you because you are the soul of the football club. I want to be the coach of all of you.” Mourinho, who has also managed Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham during his storied career, replaces Ismail Kartal, who left the club on Friday. Kartal oversaw just one league defeat this season, but that was still not enough to prevent Galatasaray from winning the title by three points. “I want to work in Turkish football. I want to help the Turkish league. But the most important thing for me is Fenerbahce,” Mourinho said. “From the moment I sign my contract, your dreams are now my dreams.” His immediate target will be securing the 19-time Turkish champions their first title since 2013-14. The 61-year-old Portuguese manager flew in to Istanbul on Sunday from his stint as a television pundit at the Champions League final at Wembley. While there, he told Sky Sports about the difficulty Fenerbahce face in trying to qualify for next season’s competition. “[It is] hard because we have three rounds of qualifying and in Fenerbahce’s case, eight players are at the Euros and they are not coming for pre-season before the first round,” he said. “If I go, you know that I like challenges so we are going to fight to be in the Champions League.”