Italian tactician Francesco Farioli had been in the running for the Sampdoria job before it went to Andrea Pirlo, but is now reportedly going to be the new coach of OGC Nice.
According to Le Parisien, RMC Sport and more, Nice have chosen the 34-year-old for the role and it will be announced within 24 hours.
Farioli was part of Roberto De Zerbi’s staff at Benevento and Sassuolo before breaking out on his own at Alanyaspor and Fatih Karagumruk.
He was one of the three candidates for the Sampdoria bench in Serie B, along with Fabio Grosso and eventual winner Pirlo, but the Nice option was always in the background.
Farioli played as a goalkeeper, but never more than at amateur level, instead going straight into the theoretical side of the sport.
This included seeing him present lectures at the Aspire Academy in Qatar and Barcelona’s legendary youth academy La Masia.