Francesco Farioli may be a toddler in managerial terms – the Manchester United-linked Nice boss will only turn 35 in April – but he is not too inexperienced to be caught cold by a sudden dip in form.
Farioli, a former assistant to Roberto de Zerbi at Sassuolo and the head coach of Fatih Karagumruk and Alanyaspor in Turkey before being granted his big break by Ineos, was mentioned for a stunning move to the newest addition to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s sporting portfolio back in January.
Erik ten Hag – like almost everyone at Old Trafford – is fighting for his future under a new ownership group who have made it clear that they are not afraid of doing what is necessary to put United back on their perch. Graham Potter, a former Nice target, has been the name discussed with the most regularity.
But Farioli, the man Ineos turned to shortly after Potter rebuffed their advances last year, is another name to keep an eye on as Ratcliffe and co set about installing their own hires at Old Trafford.
Manchester United linked with Francesco Farioli
Whether Farioli features heavily in Ineos’ thinking, however, may have a lot to do with how the Italian responds to the toughest spell of his Ligue 1 career to date. It had been relatively plain sailing for Nice until recently. Back in November, Nice were unbeaten, top of the table with seven wins in 11, and boasted Europe’s most watertight backline.
Four months on, the gap between a now fourth-placed Aiglons side and PSG now stands at 15. Nice still have the best defensive record in the division – conceding only 15 from 22 games. But a run of one win in six means that a team who were viewed as potential dark horses not so long ago are now glancing nervously over their shoulder as Lille, Lens and Rennes look to snatch their Europa League spot.
“There’s regret about not winning it,” a frustrated Farioli said after last week’s 0-0 draw with bottom-of-the-table Clermont. “I’m sorry because we had a good start to the match.
“But it’s not a disaster. We weren’t geniuses before, and we haven’t become terrible now. We need to get back to work. To push, to pay attention to the little details. We need to believe that everything is still possible.
“Our objective of being in the top 6 is still there. We’re still in contention; we just need to get back on track as soon as possible.”
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Some will say that this has been coming. Even when the wins were flying in, Nice tended to be the victorious by the odd goal. Triumphant via what Farioli calls the ‘little details’. Clinical with the few chances they did create, and rock-solid at the other end. It never usually takes much for those 1-0s to become 0-0s and 0-1s.
“There’s a drop in results, not in performances,” Farioli adds, insisting that those ‘little details’ are going against Nice at present. “In the last month, we’ve only taken two points. But we’ve had at least three very high-level performances out of four.
“Today (against Clermont), what we lacked was the goal.”
Farioli is still likely to emergence from his first year in a major European league with a great deal of credit. A man who brought a possession-heavy style to Turkey – he admires the likes of Pep Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa – has showcased a different side to his game in France. The purist has a pragmatic streak. A Guardiola fanatic with a Mourinho-esque dark side, it seems.
But if Farioli seriously hopes to be in contention for the Manchester United job should it become available, now is the time to show he can deal with adversity too.
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