Ligue 1 has for a while been billed The League of Talents — an apt title considering the number of exciting young players who have honed their craft in Frances top-flight just before skyrocketing to global superstardom in recent times, such as current Napoli star Victor Osimhen, who joined the Serie A side from Lille in 2020, or Arsenals William Saliba, who signed for the Gunners from Saint-Étienne in 2019.
However, at present, you can catch immense footballing talent on the sidelines as well as on the pitch; Ligue 1s current coaching quality is some of the most compelling in all of world football, with well-known, seasoned coaches like new PSG boss Luis Enrique, new Marseille manager Marcelino and Lilles Paulo Fonseca on display as well as tacticians with less experience but equally absorbing ideas and stories, such as Reims 30-year-old manager Will Still.
This article will focus more on the latter, as we shine a light on three young coaches to keep an eye on in Frances top flight this term.
All three are new to Ligue 1 this season, as they werent managing in this league last term, and the oldest of the trio is currently just 41 years of age.
All enter the campaign with absorbing backstories, as do many of Ligue 1s coaches this year, but not everyone will end up successful.
Nevertheless, its reasonable for fans of the relevant clubs to have belief in these coaches this season — and well try and explain why with our tactical analysis and manager-focused scout report.
Francesco Farioli, 34 years old, Nice
Nice have undergone a big shakeup in the last 12 months, first bringing in former Lens sporting director Florent Ghisolfi in order to try and sort out their questionable recruitment of recent years, then appointing Francesco Farioli as manager this summer.
If youre unfamiliar with Farioli, hes a former member of Roberto De Zerbis backroom staff, having initially caught the current Brighton and Hove Albion boss eye after writing an article on his Foggia side.
Obviously impressed by the young Fariolis analysis, De Zerbi maintained contact with the Firenze-born coach until asking him to join his team at Benevento in 2017 as a goalkeeping coach.
Farioli would go on to be part of De Zerbis coaching staff at Sassuolo during an excellent run for Neroverdi, which produced some scintillating football at times, before the two parted ways.
Farioli joined Çağdaş Atan at Alanyaspor, becoming an assistant manager in the Turkish Süper Lig for most of the 2020/21 campaign before an opportunity to take charge of Alanyaspors league rivals Fatih Karagümrük, where hed spend almost the remainder of the year before returning to Alanyaspor, this time as the boss, in December 2021.
Hed go on to depart the Turkish club in February of this year.
So, its been a hell of a journey and an education for the 34-year-old Italian over the last six or seven years thats led him to his current position as Ligue 1s second-youngest manager for the 2023/24 campaign (only the aforementioned Still is younger).
Farioli is very open about discussing his ideas; in an interview with Area Coach in 2021, during his time as Karagümrüks boss, the young coach was asked, among other topics, about his time with De Zerbi.
One interesting point the Brighton boss former goalkeeping coach made was regarding his view on using the goalkeeper in possession: Ive always thought I should do the useful things and not the risky ones, and for me, using the goalkeeper during the construction phase has always been more useful than risky.
Even just this quote gives us much insight into how Farioli views the game and how hell ideally see his teams playing.
Of course, as the manager also referenced, the strategy and tactics you employ on the pitch must also be suitable for the players one has available to them.
However, during his time with Alanyaspor last season, the Italian coach made it a key point to sign a goalkeeper who was comfortable with the ball at his feet, as they brought in Arsenals Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson on loan.
The Icelandic keeper got involved in play quite high up the pitch at times, advancing into and making himself a viable passing option in far higher positions than your average goalkeeper does with the ball.
This is something we can also fully expect Farioli to push with Nice this season as well.
At Alanyaspor, Fariolis side liked to drop a lot of players close to the keeper during the build-up, putting a lot of bodies very close together in a tight space, which was designed to create
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