Who is Francesco Farioli? The manager being eyed by Sunderland and Watford | OneFootball

Sunderland and Watford will be looking to end the regular Championship campaign on a positive note by picking up a respectable total of points from their remaining two league fixtures.

The Black Cats are still in contention to secure a place in the play-offs and managed to claim a crucial victory over West Bromwich Albion yesterday at The Hawthorns.

Sunderland are set to host Watford before heading to Deepdale to face Preston North End on May 8th.

Watford's hopes of extending their season past the 46-game mark were ended last weekend when they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Hull City.

Due to the fact that Blackburn Rovers and Millwall are set to face each other next month, the Hornets can no longer qualify for the play-offs as they are six points behind these two sides.

With Chris Wilder's contract at Vicarage Road set to expire this summer, the club are already seemingly on the lookout for his replacement.

The Athletic earlier this month suggested that the Hornets were holding talks with Francesco Farioli.

Despite the success that Tony Mowbray has achieved at Sunderland this season, Farioli has also been touted with a potential move to the Stadium of Light.

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Sunderland have placed Farioli at the top of their managerial shortlist ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

With Farioli being linked with two Championship clubs, we have decided to take a closer look at the 34-year-old's managerial career to date.

Who is Francesco Farioli?

Farioli began his career as a goalkeeping coach before moving to Qatar to work at the Aspire Academy.

Farioli then returned to Italy to work in this aforementioned role alongside Roberto De Zerbi at Benevento and Sassuolo.

After serving as an assistant manager at Alanyaspor, Farioli was appointed as the head coach of Fatih Karagumruk in 2021.

The Italian oversaw 27 games during his time with the Turkish outfit.

During this period, Karagumruk won 11 games and also picked up eight draws.

What happened in Farioli's most recent managerial role?

After Karagumruk opted to part ways with him in December 2021, Farioli sealed a move back to Alanyaspor.

Instead of serving as an assistant again, Farioli was appointed as the club's manager.

With Farioli at the helm, Alanyaspor managed to seal a fifth-place finish in the Super Lig last season while they also reached the semi-finals of the Turkish Cup.

Farioli served as the boss of the club until February 2023 before opting to leave.

In the 47 games that he oversaw at Alanyaspor, Farioli led the club to 21 victories in all competitions.