Francesco Farioli could have managed Sp. Braga… back in 2022 | OneFootball

If tomorrow he crosses paths with António Salvador in the backstage of the Dragão, that will not be Francesco Farioli’s first contact with the president of Sp. Braga. In fact, it was the very leader of the Minho club, on the suggestion of Antero Henrique—then part of PSG’s structure and with strong ties to Qatar—who first sparked Farioli’s technical interest in the Portuguese league.

In 2022, during the final stage of the 2021/22 Primeira Liga, Pinto da Costa was president of FC Porto and Sérgio Conceição was leading the technical team. In Braga, Carlos Carvalhal was at the helm of the squad, but it was already clear that the cycle that began in 2020 was coming to an end. António Salvador wanted to hire Farioli—then finishing his first season at Alanyaspor in Turkey—but ran into the issue of him lacking the UEFA level 4 coaching license. Given the caution prompted by the experience with Ruben Amorim at Pedreira, especially regarding bench freedom and its consequences, Sp. Braga postponed Farioli’s arrival to the summer of 2023 and, in the meantime, bet on a man from within the club, Artur Jorge.

At the start of 2022/23, the now Al-Rayyan coach had an inconsistent campaign and did not make it past the Europa League group stage. He dropped into the Conference League and was eliminated by Fiorentina in the playoff for the round of 16, a fact that reinforced António Salvador’s conviction to secure Farioli—who had left Turkey in February of that year. It was agreed that he would take charge of Sp. Braga in 2023/24, and Farioli began preparing periodic reports on the Portuguese league for the Arsenalista leader, deepening his knowledge of our league and fueling the temptation brought by the call from FC Porto.

In the summer of 2023, Sp. Braga finished the league in 3rd place and secured a spot in the Champions League, so António Salvador could no longer afford to let go of Artur Jorge, naturally confirming the continuity of the Portuguese coach. Farioli then headed to Nice, stood out, and in the following season, saw the door open to a European giant like Ajax.

The Italian’s progression prevented a new move from Sp. Braga and now, he appears as an opponent of the Arsenalistas at the helm of FC Porto, as an option of André Villas-Boas.

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