by Sir Jim Ratcliffe could have been forgiven for giving his Ineos data experts a quizzical look when he was first introduced to the name Francesco Farioli as they searched for a head coach for Nice, the French club he owns.
But as he prepares to oversee a revamp of Manchester United, appointing Farioli, 34, one of Europe’s youngest managers, already appears to be the best footballing decision Ratfcliffe has made to date, with Nice still unbeaten in Ligue 1.
United fans will also be encouraged to know that two of Ratcliffe’s closest allies, Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc, who are considered influential at Old Trafford, played key roles in Farioli’s appointment.
Under Farioli’s management, Ratcliffe’s Nice are one of only three clubs in Europe’s top five leagues to remain undefeated (the others are Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen), having conceded just four goals and notched back-to-back victories. at home in Paris St-Germain and Monaco.
That beginning soon improved the reputation of Farioli, who just 10 years ago was finishing his philosophy studies at an Italian university, with a score of 105 out of 110 in his thesis titled “Philosophy of the game.” The aesthetics of football and the role of the goalkeeper’.
‘My interview lasted five hours’
Just as Farioli proved to be a great student, so did Ineos and Nice sporting director Florent Ghisolfi, appointed by Ratcliffe last year, when they first approached the Italian over the summer.
“They did an analysis with data and some of the names appeared from the filter, and I was one of the names. If I’m not mistaken, it was in January or if not before,” Farioli said.
“At the end of the season, when they changed coaches, I had my first interview with sporting director Florent Ghisolfi and Dave (Brailsford, Ineos sporting director).
“It was a pretty long interview, like five hours or something like that. It was a very good introduction and the next day I had an interview with Jean-Claude Blanc (CEO of Ineos Sport). I had one more meeting with Florent, the general director and president of Nice. Many meetings and many hours, but I felt very happy because they gave me the opportunity to express myself. “They were very, very prepared for everything and were really aware of who they had in front of them.”
Farioli was out of a job when Nice first approached him, having become the youngest coach in a professional league in Europe when he took charge of Turkish club Fatih Karagumruk at the age of 31 and finished an impressive fifth. place in his only full season in charge of Nice. Alanyaspor.
At just 19 years old, Farioli was told to give up his dream of becoming a top goalkeeper and focus on training. He hasn’t looked back, he started out as a goalkeeping coach and worked under Roberto De Zerbi at Benevento and Sassuolo before moving to Turkey and becoming head coach.
Ratcliffe knew Farioli’s history when they first met, but the British billionaire might already believe he has an even better coach than he bargained for.
“I met Jim Ratcliffe a few days after (accepting the job) because he was so busy,” Farioli said. “But on his part, the first time we met, the feeling he transferred to me was really like the feeling of someone who was really aware of many things. I felt already known before I met him. “It was a really warm welcome.”
Farioli’s philosopher remains. He titled the WhatsApp group he created for himself and his coaching staff ‘creative laboratory’ because “that’s how we want to work.” He has another group for the independent research team he created, which helps monitor global football trends, along with data and analysis on leagues, players and clubs.
“I have a parallel group, a small group of people, who are not part of my technical staff but people who work remotely,” Farioli said. “I built it a year ago, as a research group because it is impossible to look at everything when you work in a club. It is a group that is working towards the future, watching games and studying trends and things, what is happening in Brazil, Argentina, Portugal. Then we all discuss it and this keeps me quite alive and gives me perspective on what is happening around the world.
“That helped me a lot in my first impact in France because when I arrived here, of course, I didn’t have the same knowledge that I have now after four months. But it helped me a lot because I already had pretty clear images of the level of the league and the possible problems.
“There is a boy in Scotland who watches British football and is also passionate about South American football, another in Italy, another in Portugal and another in Spain.”
There is also regular contact between Farioli and his bosses at Nice and Ineos, including Ratcliffe, who set him the goal of securing a top-six finish and European qualification this season.
Nice is second in Ligue 1 after 12 unbeaten games, in which it is still not behind, and is one point behind PSG.
Explaining the daily involvement that Ratcliffe and Ineos have in Nice, Farioli said: “I like to listen to the feedback I receive because it is good to have different perspectives and input. Afterwards I have freedom in decisions on the field of play.
“In other things, a little more medium and long term, there is always an open door. We share our opinions and have regular conversations, day to day or weekly. But also at the club we review everything monthly with all the parties involved: the strategy, the present and also the future.
“The club’s ambitions are already quite big, with the desire to bring the team back to Europe and be constantly in European competition. This is the goal, to dream big.”
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