A guest of Dutch TV station Ziggo Sport during the “Rondo” program, Francesco Farioli returned to talk about his painful farewell to Ajax and his future. In fact, the former Nice man is in contention for the bench of several European clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and Braga. Here are his words.
On the decision to leave Ajax.
“We shared the same goal, but we had a different vision of how to achieve it. Also about the time and urgency to get things done. This difference has always been there. It makes sense, because in such a big team it is not easy to put things off. I’m not saying I wanted everything right away, but to raise the level of the club a lot had to happen. On the first day I had made a list of things that I thought needed to be changed. I knew that Ajax was iconic club, an institution. One of the most important clubs in the world, with a recognizable style of play and trophies. The club came to talk to me. They had a project and explained why I was the right candidate. You always have to analyze everything carefully. I did that with my staff. We watched the matches and analyzed the players. We also analyzed why things went so badly. The club was struggling but still wanted to get great results, and I liked that.”
“The meetings lasted a very long time, so I presented myself well. I had put my strengths and weaknesses on the table, as well as points that might give rise to conflict. Before you get married, you should know who your partner will be. I wanted to clarify who I am and what I believe in. And I did. Many players were interesting, I wanted to work with them. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and that’s why I wanted to try.”
Will your future be in Italy? There is a lot of talk about Roma…
“There is a lot of speculation, a lot of rumors, and you know how it works … I, however, want to go back to coaching.”
Would you like to go to Roma?
“As happened with Ajax, I don’t care about the brand and the importance of the team. What matters is the way you want to do things and last summer Ajax was what I wanted. It was the right step for my career and now we will see what the next one will be. We will see if and when this opportunity comes.”
