Farioli’s impressive record on his return to action | OneFootball

In just four official matches on the Dragons’ bench, Francesco Farioli has quickly won over the blue and white supporters: four victories, including a win at Sporting’s home ground (2-1), attractive football, and a team with renewed ideas have made the Italian coach one of the standout figures of the new FC Porto.

With the break now over, the league returns to the agenda and the blue and whites host Nacional this Saturday at 18:00 at Estádio do Dragão.

Farioli is seeking his fifth consecutive victory in five rounds, confirming the high success rate he has shown when leading his teams back into national competitions after breaks.

Since taking on the role of head coach, after a stint as a goalkeeping coach at various clubs, Farioli has racked up 17 matches played immediately after league interruptions, whether due to international commitments or the winter breaks common in Europe.

Although he hasn’t always managed teams accustomed to fighting for titles – only Ajax last season fits that profile – the young coach’s record is remarkable.

In total, Farioli has 13 wins in 17 matches (a 76% win rate), with three draws and just one defeat.

Both at Ajax and at Nice, where he completed the last two full seasons (2024/25 and 2023/24), the Italian played five matches after breaks: in Amsterdam, he won them all (five out of five), and at the French club, he recorded three wins, one draw, and one defeat.

While at Alanyaspor in 2022/23, he achieved one win and one draw, a performance below that of the previous season (2021/22), in which he claimed four victories and one draw, counting matches both at Antalyaspor and Karagümrük.

Best record just one win away

Last season, it was precisely in his fifth match for the Dutch giant that the coach experienced his first setback, and it happened in a decisive encounter.

Ajax lost at the Johan Cruyff Arena (0-1) against Panathinaikos, in the second leg of the 3rd qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, taking the decision to a penalty shootout after winning the first leg.

In the shootout, the Amsterdam side prevailed (13-12) and continued in the competition, where they were only eliminated in the round of 16 by Eintracht Frankfurt (2-6 on aggregate).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.