Farioli steps down as Ajax head coach after title collapse

Francesco Farioli has stepped down as head coach of Dutch football powerhouse Ajax, just one day after the team’s heartbreaking end to the season.

Ajax, who once held a commanding nine-point lead with only five matches left, surrendered the Eredivisie title to PSV Eindhoven following a late-season collapse in form.

Over their final five games, Ajax managed just two draws and suffered three defeats, allowing PSV to snatch the championship on the final day.

Reacting to the news, the club’s technical director labeled the departure as “incredibly disappointing,” highlighting the bitter end to what once seemed a promising campaign.

“Francesco Farioli has decided to leave Ajax after careful consideration,” read a club statement.

“The head coach has informed the club’s board of his decision.”

Although Farioli had revived their fortunes when he took over last May, at one stage in the 2023/24 campaign they were in danger of relegation, he said he and the board had different visions of how to move forward.

“The management and I have the same goals for the future of Ajax, but we have different visions and timeframes about the way we should work and operate to achieve those goals,” the 36-year-old Italian said in a statement published on the club website.

“Given these differences in the principles and foundations of the project, I feel deep in my heart that this is the best moment to part ways.”

Ajax technical director Alex Kroes sounded less than pleased that Farioli was leaving only one year into the three-year contract he had signed on leaving Ligue 1 side Nice last year.

“I find this incredibly disappointing,” he said.

“Francesco and his staff have been a great help to us.

“It’s been an intense season filled with many memorable moments, and we achieved our goal: qualifying for next season’s Champions League.”

Kroes said the abrupt departure of Farioli — the first non-Dutch coach at Ajax since Dane Morten Olsen in 1998 — posed all sorts of problems.

“This summer was already set to be a challenging transfer window, and it has now become even more so,” he said.

“It is up to us to ensure that a strong new coaching team is in place when pre-season preparations begin on 26 June.