Francesco Farioli
Italian football manager (born 1989) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francesco Farioli (Italian pronunciation: [faˈrjɔːli]; born 10 April 1989) is an Italian professional football coach who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Ajax.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 10 April 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Barga, Italy | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ajax (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007-2008 | Margine Coperta | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021 | Fatih Karagümrük | ||
| 2021–2023 | Alanyaspor | ||
| 2023–2024 | Nice | ||
| 2024– | Ajax | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Farioli started his coaching career in Turkey with spells at Fatih Karagümrük and Alanyaspor. He then had one season in charge of French club Nice in Ligue 1 before being appointed by Ajax in May 2024.
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Early career
Farioli studied philosophy and later sports science at the University of Florence.[1] He began his coaching career with Margine Coperta, a lower-division Italian football club, where he was goalkeeping coach from 2009 to 2011. [2] He subsequently worked as a goalkeeping coach for Fortis Juventus and Lucchese in the Italian Serie C. [3]
Farioli then joined the Aspire Academy in Qatar as a goalkeeping coach for the Qatar U16 national team. [4] While at Aspire, he met Roberto De Zerbi[4] and Jarkko Tuomisto.[5]
He returned to Italy to work as the goalkeeping coach for Benevento under De Zerbi during the 2017-18 season.[6] He then followed De Zerbi to Sassuolo, where he continued as goalkeeping coach from 2018 to 2020.[2]
Turkey
Alanyaspor (assistant manager)
Farioli's first role as an assistant manager was with the Turkish Süper Lig club Alanyaspor for the 2020–21 season under manager Çağdaş Atan.[7]
Fatih Karagümrük
On 21 March 2021, he was appointed the head coach of Fatih Karagümrük, another Süper Lig club.[3] At 31, he was one of the youngest managers in a professional European league.[8] Farioli implemented a possession-based style of play at Fatih Karagümrük, a significant departure from the more direct approach common in the Süper Lig.[3] His team led the league in average possession (61.3%) and had the second-highest number of open-play passing sequences of 10 or more passes.[3] This tactical approach garnered attention for its distinctiveness. He managed Fatih Karagümrük until 12 December 2021.[9]
Return to Alanyaspor
On 31 December 2021, he returned to Alanyaspor, this time as head coach.[10] Farioli guided Alanyaspor through the second half of the 2021–22 Süper Lig season, achieving 11 wins, 3 draws, and 5 losses in the 19 league games he managed.[citation needed] The team finished the season in 5th place[11] and reached the semi-finals of the 2021–22 Turkish Cup.[12] In the 2022–23 Süper Lig season, Farioli oversaw the first 22 league matches, recording 6 wins, 7 draws, and 9 losses,[citation needed] before leaving the club by his own decision on 27 February 2023.[13]
Nice
On 30 June 2023, Farioli joined French Ligue 1 side Nice as manager, signing a two-year contract.[14] During his time at Nice, Farioli implemented a distinctive tactical system with influences from his previous mentor, Roberto De Zerbi, emphasizing possession-based football and a high defensive line.[15] This approach led to a strong start to the 2023-24 Ligue 1 season, with Nice briefly challenging Paris Saint-Germain for the top spot in the league standings.[16] Despite some decline in form later in the season,[17] Nice finished the 2023–24 Ligue 1 season in 5th place, securing qualification for the UEFA Europa League.[18] In September 2023, Farioli obtained his UEFA Pro Licence.[19]
Ajax
On 23 May 2024, Farioli signed a three-year contract with Dutch club Ajax, becoming their first-ever Italian head coach.[20] This appointment marked the first time Ajax had appointed a foreign manager since Morten Olsen in the 1997–98 season.[21] Taking charge after Ajax's difficult 2023–24 season, Farioli applied his defensive coaching strengths, previously seen at Nice, to improve the team's stability.[22]
Farioli's focus on organization, combined with frequent squad rotation and player development, contributed to Ajax achieving the league's best defence and reaching first place in the Eredivisie by late March 2025.[22] His tactical approach gained particular attention following a crucial 0-2 away victory against title rivals PSV in late March 2025. Analyses highlighted Farioli's specific preparation against PSV's system, including particular ways Ajax pressured PSV and used planned player movements intended to open up attacking opportunities, as well as effective in-game adjustments, such as switching to a 5-4-1 formation late in the match to secure the result.[23]
Tactics
Francesco Farioli's coaching style, influenced by Roberto De Zerbi but with his own ideas,[15][24] typically involves keeping the ball (possession) and building play carefully from the back to control the midfield.[15][24] His teams often concentrate players centrally, using short passes to dictate the game's pace and quickly attempt to regain possession after losing the ball.[15][24] Key ideas include using quick passing sequences to bypass opponents and adjusting the speed of attacks based on the opposition.[24][15]
Attacking play focuses on finding space between defenders, creating advantages on the wings, and moving multiple players into the opponent's penalty box.[15][24] Defensively, Farioli emphasizes aggressive high pressing – challenging opponents near their own goal.[15][24] When defending deeper, his teams tend to stay compact (close together), protecting central areas and forcing attacks towards the sidelines, while remaining ready to press high again when feasible.[15][24] He has also shown tactical adaptability, for example at Ajax where analysis suggested a shift towards greater defensive solidity and efficiency.[22]
Managerial statistics
- As of 20 April 2025
| Team | Nat. | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Fatih Karagümrük |  |
22 March 2021 | 16 December 2021 | 27 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 43 | 39 | +4 | 40.74 |
| Alanyaspor | |
31 December 2021 | 27 February 2023 | 48 | 20 | 12 | 16 | 82 | 76 | +6 | 41.67 |
| Nice |  |
30 June 2023 | 23 May 2024 | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 44.74 |
| Ajax |  |
23 May 2024 | Present | 50 | 34 | 5 | 11 | 97 | 47 | +50 | 68.00 |
| Total | 163 | 82 | 36 | 45 | 270 | 197 | +73 | 50.31 | |||
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.