Ilechukwu rejects Mourinho comparison after helping Rangers end eight-year wait for Nigeria title

Enugu Rangers International FC head coach Fidelis Ilechukwu has shut down an attempt to compare him with the ‘Special One’ moments after picking up the first league title of his career, Soccernet.ng reports.

Rangers defeated Bendel Insurance 2-0 inside the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu on Sunday to secure their eighth Nigeria Professional Football League title with a game to spare.

It is the Flying Antelope’s first league triumph in eight years, having endured a drought since beating all comers to the gong in 2016.

It is the second-longest title drought in the club’s history, after going without a league honour between 1984 and 2016 – an incredible 32-year wait.

Ilechukwu, who is in his first season with Rangers, engineered the latest league triumph after guiding the six-time FA Cup winners to 20 wins and seven draws in 37 games.

The 45-year-old manager’s remarkable feat has made some call him the ‘Special One’ in comparison with Jose Mourinho’s unforgettable moniker after guiding FC Porto to Champions League glory and Chelsea to end a 50-year wait for the Premier League title.

However, Ilechukwu has waved away those comparisons, insisting he would rather be referred to as the ‘Working One’.

Ilechukwu wrote on X: “I’m not the special one. They call me the WORKING ONE.”

The former MFM and Plateau United coach added: “From the beginning, our focus as a team was to win every game in the league. We never pressure ourselves on winning the NPFL but win every game.

“I’m happy we achieved our goal even before the end of the season.”

Rangers will play their last league game of the season against Gombe United next Sunday.

Meanwhile, former Chelsea and Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho has been appointed the manager of Turkish giants Fenerbahce ahead of the 2024/25 season. 

Mourinho had been out of a job since late last year after he was sacked by AS Roma following a mediocre first half of the campaign.