Ailing Dutch giants Ajax on Thursday named Italian Francesco Farioli their new manager as the club seeks to turn the page on a horror season in which they trailed in fifth.
Presenting Francesco Farioli, our new head coach! pic.twitter.com/fEPa90Khj8
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) May 23, 2024
"Ajax has reached an agreement with Francesco Farioli and OGC Nice on the transfer of the head coach to Ajax," the Amsterdam club announced in a statement.
Farioli signed a three-year contract, starting 11 June, 2024 and running until 30 June, 2027, they added.
"I am delighted to be here in Amsterdam, and together with the other staff members, we will dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly," the 34-year-old said.
"We want to reconnect with the DNA of the club, aiming to bring new energy with a positive way of working and thinking," Ajax quoted him as saying.
Under Farioli's leadership, French Ligue 1 side Nice started the season in superb fashion, going unbeaten through their first 13 matches including beating Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 away, and conceding only four goals in that time.
However, they went from apparent certainties to qualify for the Champions League, to fifth in the table, 21 points behind top-of-the-table PSG.
Ajax finished on 56 points, a humiliating 35 points behind champions PSV Eindhoven, squeezing them just into the qualifying rounds of the Europa League.
But this is an unacceptable place for the four-time European Cup champions, who briefly hit rock-bottom of the Eredivisie after their worst start to a season since 1964/65.
Historic low followed historic low for Ajax, a club that counts Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp as alumni, as they crashed out of the Dutch cup to amateur club Hercules.
The nadir for the Amsterdam side came in early April when they suffered a 6-0 humiliation in the De Kuip stadium to bitter rivals Feyenoord in the Dutch "Klassieker."
Frustrations on the pitch have boiled over into violence in the stands and chaos in the boardroom.
CEO and chairman Alex Kroes was suspended on suspicion of insider trading, only to return a few weeks later as technical director.