PORTO, PORTUGAL – APRIL 09: Francesco Farioli, Head Coach of FC Porto, gestures during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Quarter-Final Leg One match between FC Porto and Nottingham Forest FC at Estadio do Dragao on April 09, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Italian coach Francesco Farioli is fresh from winning the league title with FC Porto and insists he’s in no rush to come back home. ‘Serie A can wait.’
The tactician only turned 37 last month and got to celebrate by winning the Liga Portugal trophy thanks to 28 victories, four draws and just two defeats.
He has had jobs in Turkish football, French and Dutch sides, missing out on the title on the final day with Ajax last season.
Farioli has flourished abroad
Never having been a head coach in Italy, could the former Sassuolo and Benevento goalkeeping trainer under Roberto De Zerbi come back to his home country?
“In all honesty, it’s not something I think about that much,” Farioli told Tuttomercatoweb.
“The curious thing is that this year I didn’t return to Italy at all, not even during my days off. My life has been completely moulded around my work, and living abroad for so many years has been an incredible experience, both on a human and professional level.
“Perhaps the real news is that for the first time I’m preparing for a second consecutive season at the same club. I only lasted one season in Nice and Amsterdam, and those were my choices.
“At Porto I’ve formed a strong bond with President Andre Villas-Boas, we share the same ideas about football, how to develop a project and the vision we want to build.
“This is why, really, I struggle to see myself anywhere else at the moment.”
So what does that mean for a return to Italian football?
“Serie A can wait.”
After all, Farioli has just extended his contract with FC Porto to June 2028, by which time he’ll still be under 40.
