Vitor Pereira, Fenerbahce and Forest: AWOL exit, star clashes and a curious return | OneFootball

Vitor Pereira starts life at Nottingham Forest with a familiar twist, his first match is away to former club Fenerbahce. According to NY Times, he is Forest’s fourth head coach this season and has worked with owner Evangelos Marinakis before.

He first arrived in Istanbul in 2015 after a double with Olympiacos, taking over a Super Lig squad of ageing stars. With Robin van Persie, Nani and Raul Meireles among them, Fenerbahce were runners-up, lost the cup final 1-0 to Galatasaray and went out to Braga 4-2 on aggregate, a 4-1 defeat featuring three red cards and Pereira’s own dismissal.

After a 4-3 aggregate loss to Monaco in August 2016 Champions League qualifying, Pereira left for Portugal, citing threats and a tense atmosphere and alleging the club blocked him from working. Players found only goalkeeping coach Paolo Orlandoni at training. Aziz Yildirim soon sacked him, later pointing to unaddressed issues, unsuitable selections and his absence.

By 2021 Ali Koc was president and Pereira returned. Six wins in the first eight league games preceded a slide, starting with a 3-1 loss at Trabzonspor after Kim Min-jae was sent off and coming soon after a 3-0 home defeat by Olympiacos. A 2-1 win at Galatasaray could not prevent his December dismissal.

Managing stars proved awkward. Van Persie chafed at time behind Fernandao. In the second stint, a 3-4-3 that did not suit Mesut Ozil and reactions to substitutions, including against Antwerp, amplified tensions.

Positives included Arda Guler’s debut at 16 and reworking Ferdi Kadioglu and Bright Osayi-Samuel as full-backs. After spells at Corinthians, Flamengo and Al Shabab, he kept Wolves up, then was sacked in early November after 10 winless league games. He now returns to the Sukru Saracoglu as Forest begin.

Source: NY Times