Ik was op zoek naar een analyse over Farioli in zijn tijd bij Nice, ik zou zeggen, Veel leesplezier!
A little write up about Francesco Farioli in Nice and his tactics
*An Ajax fan came to the r/Ligue1 sub to ask for infos on Farioli and how he was doing in Nice, and I wrote this comment as an answer. With the news that he's seemingly a real target, I figured you guys could be interested so I'm posting it here
It was very surprising to read (him linked with Ajax), tbh. I'm not a Nice expert (I'm an OL fan), but I have watched quite a few of their games this season.
Results wise they started incredibly the season, 35 points taken in 17 games, 2nd in the first half only 5 points behind PSG. Before falling apart after the break, only 2 wins between January and March and 19 points taken in 15 games. 9th on that second half of the season, thanks to a little rebound in the last games. Still 5th overall because a lot of the clubs that should be in that European race have been struggling this season (Lens, Rennes, OM, OL...) and it has become a race of who will be the less worse.
Talking about expectations, considering their players, transfers and their overall budget (8th in the league with 85M) they are expected to be in that race for EL/ECL. So around the 5/6/7/8/9 positions, which is basically where they finished in the last 5 seasons (9th/5th/9th/5th). So regarding that they are still on line for a good season.
However, the reason why this was very surprising to read is that Farioli's playstyle seems like the opposite of what Ajax is supposed to be and usually wants of its manager. He did arrive with the label of being De Zerbi's disciple, and turk fans said he played some kind of suicide ball with a strong pressing and a high line there that would either be incredible or fail spectacularly here.
But we saw none of that in Nice, and if there's one word to describe his team it's : boring. They do press but very often from a median block, and his usual 4-3-3 turn into a low and compact 5-4-1 in defense with the DM coming between the 2 CBs. While with the ball they do build up from the back (and they do it well, I guess that's where you could see a De Zerbi comparison), but after that there is a lack of urgency to get forward. Resulting in long but useless sequences of possession, and games just not entertaining to watch. 36 goals scored in 31 games, 13th best attack in the league. That refusal to go forward, lack of threats and overall chance creation is also visible in their "advanced" stats : they are ranked 15th (out of 18) when it comes to passes in the final 3rd according to fbref, despites having the 7th best possession.
While it's not entertaining, it is (well, was) efficient. They still have the best defense in the league (25 goals against in 31 games, it was *9* after the first 17 games) and also the best amount of clean sheets with 16 games finished without getting scored on. Winning a lot of games 1-0. That tactic kills games, but it also kills them for the opponent that are having a lot of trouble to create chances and score. And it is working well because it is what it was designed for, and Farioli have been very open about it. He didn't like the word boring, but explained that his tactic was constructed with the biggest danger of Ligue 1 in mind (aka transitions) and to limit as much as possible that risk of losing control. Hence the very careful forward progression, the compact 5-4-1 defense, and the lack of agressive press.
Which is paradoxically likely the reason of their fall after the break : Farioli tried to play more offensively to answer the criticism and it didn't work well.
If I had to finish on a positive note, it's that his very careful approach and boring playstyle is a conscious, crafted and assumed choice. Made to fit the specifities of Ligue 1 and tailored to Nice's squad and strengths. So it's possible with the very different context and squad of Ajax he could craft a completely different tactic more in line with what is expected there. Especially if you look at what he did in Turkey before that was almost the opposite of what he's doing in Nice.
Maak Bergwijntje nou niet wakker, net met z'n middagdutje begonnen 
