Francesco Farioli is the new head coach of Ajax, the Amsterdam team announced via the official club channels. The 35-year-old Italian comes from OGC Nice and signs for three seasons with the capital city team.

Farioli's contract starts on June 11 and runs until June 30, 2027. He will succeed interim coach John van 't Schip at Ajax, who replaced the dismissed Maurice Steijn at the end of October. Van 't Schip led Ajax from virtual last place to the fifth final ranking in the Eredivisie.

Farioli was not in pole position to succeed Van 't Schip for a long time. The Telegraph previously reported that Erik ten Hag was a dream candidate for the Amsterdam team, although that soon turned out to be an illusion.

The Amsterdam policymakers then focused entirely on Graham Potter. After long negotiations, the salary and the British's demand to take two assistants with him to Amsterdam Ajax turned out to be too much. Farioli was next on the list and was notably a cheaper option.

Ajax was not the only candidate for the Italian. Brighton & Hove Albion saw Farioli as an ideal candidate to replace outgoing coach Roberto De Zerbi. The new trainer of Ajax was apprenticed to the latter in the past. They will now have to turn their attention to another candidate.

Farioli was born on April 10, 1989. He studied philosophy and sports sciences at university, but as a football player he did not succeed in professional football. He soon started working as a goalkeeper coach and worked with De Zerbi at Benevento and Sassuolo.

In March 2021, he stood on his own two feet for the first time as head coach at Turkish Fatih Karagümrük. After he left there on December 16, 2021, an employment contract with Alanyaspor followed. After a season and a half, Farioli left for Nice. With the French club he finished in fifth place in 2023/24, a place that entitles him to Europa League football.

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