[ad_1]
Ajax are close to agreeing a deal that will see Francesco Farioli become their new head coach.
A contract has not yet been agreed, but the move is expected to be finalised in the coming days.
Should his move be confirmed, Farioli will become the first non-Dutch coach at Ajax since Danish manager Morten Olsen left in 1998.
Farioli’s contract at his current club, Nice, was due to run until the summer of 2025. He had only joined at the beginning of the 2023-24 season, leading Nice to a 13-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1 at the start of the campaign. Their form, however, tailed off in the new year and they finished fifth in the table.
Ajax had been looking for a new boss after sacking Maurice Steijn in October and appointing John van’t Schip on an interim basis. They finished fifth in the Eredivisie this season, their lowest position in 24 years, 35 points behind winners PSV.
GO DEEPER
The fall of the House of Ajax
The club had approached Graham Potter with a view to taking over at the Johan Cruyff Arena, but The Athletic reported that he declined the opportunity, having felt the project was not right for him at present.
Farioli will face the challenge of leading them back towards the top of Dutch football, but will have to do so with a limited budget. Ajax have limited resources available in the summer transfer window after spending heavily on over a dozen signings in the last 18 months, the majority of whom have not been a success.
At Nice, Farioli’s side impressed with their out-of-possession structure, maintaining one of the best defensive records amongst Europe’s top five leagues for the majority of the season. Lining up in a 4-3-3, they generally pressed high in a man-to-man system — but then drop deep into a 5-4-1 block when pressured, with defensive midfielder Youssouf Ndayishimiye becoming a third centre-back.
GO DEEPER
Nice have declined dramatically in 2024 – what’s gone wrong?
(Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images)
[ad_2]
Source link
Fitnessnacks – #Francesco #Farioli #closing #move #Ajax #coach
Courtesy : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5513289/2024/05/23/francesco-farioli-ajax-head-coach/