Francesco Farioli made Rangers credentials clear in teary Ajax farewell as fiery Italian knows a 'storm' when he sees one

Daily Record

6 days ago

The Italian has emerged as a genuine option and might have made his pitch days before meeting with anyone at Rangers
Francesco Farioli said he's good at 'seeing the storm before it comes' in his emotional farewell to Ajax – something that might well prove to be his opening gambit in the bid to land the Rangers job.
The bombshell dropped tonight that Farioli has held talks with Ibrox chiefs and is a serious contender to replace Barry Ferguson in the Ibrox hotseat.
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The 36-year-old was once the hottest of managerial property and looked as if his Midas touch was coming good again with Ajax – only for an historic collapse to leave him walking out of Amsterdam in tears.
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They led PSV by nine points with five games remaining, but incredibly failed to win four of their final five matches to let PSV retake the lead. And even a win over Twente on the final day wasn't enough for Ajax to wrestle back top spot.
Despite the collapse, Ajax technical director Alex Kroes said he wanted to keep Farioli who achieved their pre-season goal of qualifying for the Champions League.
But Farioli decided to walk citing differences in vision for the club.
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Now he could be coming in the door at Rangers, and his emotional farewell speech after Ajax's final day victory might just tell his next employers what to expect.
He claims to be an expert in sticky situations brewing long before they come – putting that forward as one of his primary management strengths.
He said: "It's a really hard lesson to learn and it is what it is. I don't have any type of regrets. I'm good at seeing the storm before it comes, it's one of my main qualities. I always avoid speaking about things very far before they happen. I know who we are and how much it costs.
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"Emotions, a lot of emotions, as you can imagine. There's sadness and that gives perspective to what we have done.
"Eleven months ago when we had our first press conference to have the feeling we could arrive at the last game of the season and compete with a team 30 points ahead of us, that would be incredible. If we watch with a cold mind, it's been a great season.
"One year ago, Ajax was in some difficulties and today this group of players brought back some faith."
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Speaking after Farioli's exit was confirmed, Ajax technical director Kroes said: "It's incredibly disappointing.
"Francesco also played a key role in enhancing the high-performance culture at Ajax, for which we are extremely grateful."
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