Francesco Farioli diagnoses Ajax crisis: “Impossible to work there” | OneFootball

In statements to ESPN, Francesco Farioli spoke about the period in which he managed Ajax, highlighting the structural problems within the club.

Before moving to FC Porto, Francesco Farioli endured an unhappy spell at Ajax, seeing the title slip away after holding a nine-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie with five matches left to play. In an interview with ESPN, the Italian coach analysed the factors that ultimately hampered his work on the bench:

“We’re talking about a huge club, with a lot of internal political struggles. To be honest, I believe that, this way, it’s not easy to move forward and it won’t help Ajax become competitive again.”

“Too many decisions within the club are made by people who are not really involved in football. That makes everything significantly slower. In my view, it was impossible to work under those circumstances. (…) Together with the people who were close to me, I realised how difficult it was to maintain a good connection within such a big club.”

In 2025/26, Ajax finished the Eredivisie in 5th place, marking a fourth consecutive season without winning any trophies. As a result, the Dutch club will play in the Conference League next season.

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