Scottish giants Celtic have held talks with Italian Francesco Farioli regarding the vacant head coach position at Parched, as they look to replace Ange Postecoglou, who departed for Tottenham last week, as per The Daily Record.
The 34-year-old is still a young coach and is known as the ‘young De Zerbi’ in Italy, having learned under the Brighton coach at Benevento and Sassuolo in his home country, playing a similar style of attacking football to his mentor. His two most recent coaching roles have come in Turkey with Antalyaspor and Faith Karagumruck.
However, he is not thought to be in contention for the job as the Glasgow side favours a return for former boss Brendan Rodgers, who is out of work after being sacked by relegated Leicester City towards the end of last season. They are also expected to make a move for Manchester City assistant Enzo Maresca but they are planning alternatives, Farioli is one candidate in their thoughts and he is keen on a move to Glasgow.
While he did not enjoy a successful playing career, the Italian coach born in Barga rose through the coaching ranks after a fruitful spell in Qatar, this saw him gain the attention of Roberto De Zerbi who added him to his coaching staff during his time in Italy before joining Brighton & Hove Albion.
Celtic are looking to fill a void since Postecoglou left for the Premier League where he will do battle with Farioli’s mentor as Tottenham Hotspur coach. The Australian led the side to a domestic treble last season, continuing the side’s winning traditions as they once again saw off the challenge from fierce local rivals Rangers and they will want someone who can continue that success.
Towards the end of last season, the Italian was a name who was being mentioned as a replacement for Sunderland coach Tony Mowbray. The speculation has since died down but did come as a shock given the season Mowbray has had, which culminated with the Black Cats being eliminated from the playoffs in the semi-finals by Luton Town. However, they do appear to have moved forward under Mowbray, with the club making moves in the transfer market already.
Writer’s View
Farioli is still a young coach but given his time spent with De Zerbi, it is clear he is held in high regard by his mentor, who is someone enjoying time at the top of his game also. With that being said, it is a risk to take someone who is yet to work with a top club, but given the gap between Celtic and the rest of the division, it may be one that works well for all involved here.
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