May 24 – Ajax Amsterdam have put their trust in Italian manager Francesco Farioli to lead the Dutch club for the next three seasons. He succeeds John van’t Schip.
On Thursday, the club confirmed that the Italian will take command in the Dutch capital, replacing interim manager van’t Schip. He will be the first foreign manager to coach Ajax since Morten Olsen of Denmark in 1997.
The appointment comes following a dramatic season and a fifth-place finish for Ajax, their worst result since the 1999-2000 season. They finished 35 points behind champions PSV Eindhoven and dismissed Maurice Steijn after just seven matches.
“There are many, many reasons, of course, to sign for Ajax,” said Farioli. “But the main reason is: there are two clubs that represent the football I love – Ajax and Barcelona. I grew up with their football ideas. This is a nice coincidence, let me put it this way, that my path now crosses Ajax. I couldn’t escape that attraction. That’s the main reason I had the feeling and desire to go into this.”
The financial terms of the three-year contract between Ajax and Farioli were not released.
Farioli added: “We want to get back to basics and connect with what Ajax stands for. We also want to bring new energy with a positive way of working and thinking. We don’t want to waste any time and get ready for the start of the season now to bring Ajax back to where it belongs.”
Having previously managed clubs in Italy and Turkey, Farioli led Nice to a fifth-place finish in Ligue 1 last season. He will bring along his compatriot Daniele Cavalletto and the Spaniard Felipe Sanchez Mateos as assistants. Dave Vos, currently head coach of Jong Ajax, will act as his first assistant.
“Everything indicates that Francesco is an intelligent man who can interact well with people, which is also a very important part of the job. All in all, we are convinced that he fits in well at Ajax,” said Ajax’s technical director Axel Kroes in a statement.
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