Having dominated the Netherlands’ top-flight under Erik ten Hag between 2018 and 2022, Ajax endured a trophyless 2022/23 campaign and finished third. Worse was to come in 2023/24, where Ajax placed fifth – their worst finish in 24 years.

By Zach Lowy

After watching helplessly as Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven hoisted the Eredivisie trophy, de Godenzonen desperately needed someone to return them to the zenith of Dutch football.

Enter: Francesco Farioli.

Farioli studied philosophy and sports science at the University of Florence and worked as a goalkeeping coach for various parochial Italian sides before joining Qatar’s Aspire Academy, where he met Roberto De Zerbi. He worked alongside De Zerbi at Benevento and Sassuolo before switching from goalkeeping coach to assistant coach with Turkish side Alanyaspor. It wasn’t long before fellow Süper Lig outfit Fatih Karagümrük poached him as their new manager in March 2021 – six months later, he returned to Alanyaspor and guided them to a fifth-place finish as well as the Turkish Cup semifinals, before leaving on his own accord in February 2023.

Despite not having completed his UEFA Pro License, Nice saw fit to appoint Farioli to a two-year contract. Taking charge of a side that had finished ninth the previous campaign, Farioli immediately worked his magic at Nice, who won eight of their first 13 matches – drawing the other five – and challenged Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1. Whilst their form regressed during the second half of the campaign, they nevertheless finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Europa League thanks to a league-high 19 clean sheets and a league-low 29 goals conceded.

After one year in France, Farioli made the move to Amsterdam and became Ajax’s first-ever Italian coach and their first foreign manager in 26 years. He took charge of a club desperately lacking in fitness, which faced a shortened preseason due to their Europa League qualifiers commencing on July 25. On top of this, he didn’t have a ton of backing in the summer transfer market – they signed Daniele Rugani on loan from Juventus and acquired Wout Weghorst from Burnley for €2.38 million, whilst Bertrand Traoré and Davy Klaassen returned to the club on free transfers.

But rather than complain, Farioli rolled up his sleeves and got to work finetuning the players at his disposal. Youri Baas went from a middle-of-the-road left back on loan at NEC Nijmegen last season to a rock-solid centre back alongside Anton Gaeei, Josip Šutalo and Jorrel Hato in defence. Jordan Henderson has anchored the midfield alongside Klaassen and Kenneth Taylor, whilst Brian Brobbey, Mika Godts and Bertrand Traoré have developed into a fearsome attacking trio. However, Farioli has been careful to rotate his players and make the most of his entire squad. He has tied an Eredivisie record by utilising 37 players across a single season, and with just five matches remaining, he is yet to repeat the same line-up from the previous match.

“Ajax is significantly fitter than their opponents…most teams simply cannot match the intensity that Ajax brings to the game for the full 90 minutes,” stated Dutch analyst Steven Minten. “The squad is full of great characters with strong mentalities who inspire and motivate their teammates to give 100% throughout the entire game. Additionally, Farioli gives 100% on the sidelines for the full 90.”

“Farioli also thinks in terms of ‘starters’ and ‘finishers’ — players who can begin the game and those who can close it out. He always has a game plan for the full 90 minutes. If things don’t go as planned, players like Weghorst or Traoré can come on as substitutes and make a difference, as they are capable of creating something out of nothing. Every player feels important, which drives them to give their all until the final whistle. No player has had almost zero minutes this season, meaning most of the squad is match-fit.”

In order to cope with this short turnaround, Farioli tasked his players with running far more than they had been accustomed to during preseason, whilst he also gave his international players extended vacation time. He also appointed a Head of Topsport, Martijn Redegeld, to ensure players eat better, and a recovery coach, Francisco Molano, who was entrusted with accelerating the rehabilitation process for injured players. And whilst various Dutch journalists belittled him as a naïve outsider, his unique methods have borne the test of time. Ajax initially lagged behind defending champions PSV Eindhoven – by matchday 15, they found themselves third in the table and nine points behind PSV – but they’ve nevertheless picked up steam in 2025 and hit their stride.

They’ve done so thanks to the players’ growing familiarity with Farioli’s tactics as well as contributions from January recruits Oliver Edvardsen, Lucas Rosa, and Matheus Magalhães. And whilst PSV have lost momentum in recent weeks, the Amsterdammers have gone on a tear and taken 40 points from a possible 42, a run that included a 2-0 win at PSV on March 30. Even PSV manager Peter Bosz was forced to admit that he should have taken a page out of Farioli’s book and given more vacation time to his international players like Johan Bakayoko, Joey Veerman, and Jerdy Schouten.

Under previous managers like Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, Ajax became renowned for their scintillating ‘Totalvoetbal’ style of play predicated upon aggressive pressing, positional interchanges, and pass-and-move combinations. But under Farioli, they’ve gone with a far more conservative setup, with the 36-year-old manager recognising that his squad’s attacking profiles are simply not at the same caliber as their domestic rivals. Ajax’s top scorer in the league is Kenneth Taylor (9 goals), they have scored fewer goals (62) than both PSV (86) and Feyenoord (64), whilst they also trail PSV and Feyenoord for average possession (57.2% possession).

They are measured in possession and prefer to lure the opponent in with short passes before going long and spraying the ball into vacant space, where their pacey front three can wreak havoc. They’re not going to scamper forward on a whim, snatch at the first available opportunity, and risk coughing up possession and conceding a dangerous transition; instead, they pick their moments to fire at goal. They aren’t going to force the issue, man-mark their opponents and commit numbers forward to try to win the ball back high up the pitch – in fact, they sit seventh in the league for possession won in the final third per match (4.3). Instead, they’d rather sit back and defend diligently, with Henderson dropping deep to form a back three, before launching the ball forward and hitting on the counter.

We’ll often see Ajax switch from a 4-3-3 to a 5-4-1 to preserve a result, like in Sunday’s match. After falling behind at Willem II, Farioli introduced Weghorst and Steven Berghuis for Brobbey and Klaassen at the hour-mark, before making another double substitution with Edvardsen and Kian Fitz-Jim replacing Godts and Hato. Five minutes later, Weghorst dropped deep and engineered a sublime flick towards Berghuis, who delivered a cross towards the face of goal, where Edvardsen was there to convert. Shortly after, Fitz-Jim scurried past a sea of opponents and combined with Weghorst before teeing up the veteran target man – Weghorst made no mistake from the penalty spot, caressing the ball into the back of the net. In order to shore up the backline, Rugani was introduced for Henderson in the 90th minute, with Ajax holding on for a 2-1 victory.

Ajax currently sit 11 points clear of PSV thanks to a rock-solid defense that has conceded the fewest goals (22) and Expected Goals (26.4) and attained the most clean sheets (15) in the league, and it’s precisely this defensive fortitude that has them on the cusp of a record-extending 37th Eredivisie title. Attack may win games, but defence wins championships, and it’s why Farioli is on track to become the youngest-ever manager to win the Eredivisie title.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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