Francesco Farioli is a coach with a pragmatic vision of football.⠀
He is rigorous and constantly seeks to minimize risk. Prioritizes organization, physicality and discipline to the detriment of creativity.
It has all the functions for each position of your 4-3-3 (which then unfolds into other schemes depending on the moment of the game) very well designed. Always puts your model ahead of the players’ characteristics. It does not give up the balance, nor the security that its matrix brings you.
It is clear that Farioli’s model (like any other) is not perfect. ⠀
On the one hand, all this rigor leads to your team having very solid collective principles.⠀
From the 1st phase of construction, where the intention of attracting pressure from the opponent and then launching quick attacks in free spaces is clear, to the aggressiveness and intensity without the ball (pressure, duels, reaction to loss and defensive transition), FC Porto is a team with well-worked playing standards.⠀
It is based on an organization that gives you a lot of stability and confidence in your defensive process.⠀⠀
On the other hand, excessive rigidity leads to some predictability. The model has little variability and creativity. Especially in games where you are having difficulty unlocking low blocks, the lack of arguments in crafting zones is noticeable.⠀⠀
Furthermore, by always putting their model ahead of individual characteristics, there are players who end up not being monetized in the best way (Rodrigo Mora is the most obvious case in the Porto squad).⠀
In practical terms, weighing all these factors, given the course of FC Porto’s season, it is safe to say that Farioli’s model had a positive impact on the club.
Whether you like its characteristics more or less, the truth is that this FC Porto team has a strong identity. ⠀
As much as the Dragons may be an easy team to analyze and that, aesthetically, is not unanimous, the results don’t lie. Farioli transformed FC Porto into a very functional team that was difficult to beat.
Obviously, the Italian coach is not the only worker from this season, which has been very positive for the Invicta club.⠀
Behind this success there was a lot of “behind the scenes” work that should be valued.
For a game idea that is not as flexible as Farioli’s to achieve success, it is essential that the cast is custom-built for it.⠀⠀
Well, that’s exactly what FC Porto did…⠀⠀
All of the Dragons’ signings, both in the summer and winter markets, precisely met Farioli’s ideas for the functions of each position. There was an evident search for a player profile with characteristics to meet the expectations and requirements of the Italian coach, with regard to intensity, aggression and physicality.
This criterion, driven by strong convictions, led to the results we see today.⠀⠀
Farioli has full confidence in his squad, which has allowed him not only to build such a strong identity, but also to promote rotation in the team (there is no better example than the Europa League tie against Stuttgart) and have a direct impact with substitutions (as in this recent game in Braga).
In Brazilian Football, it is common to see presidents and managers invent narratives to devalue the success of others and excuses to justify their own failure (the classics are “luck” or “they are being carried in the lap by the referees”)…⠀⠀
In fact, normally, whoever wins simply has exactly what FC Porto had this season: a project.
The Dragons didn’t just throw money at problems.⠀
They invested a lot, that’s for sure, but they did it with discretion. They followed a clear line of thought, aligned with their coach. They outlined a plan for this season and put it into practice.
If, today, FC Porto has “one hand” on the title, it is because it has enormous merit in the way it planned convincingly and carefully this season and allowed Farioli to have “weapons” to build a team to suit him!
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