9 points ahead in 5 rounds but was reversed and lost the championship. The 36-year-old young coach still has no shortage of next home

Reporter Han Bing reported that if we summarize the major events in European football in the 2024/25 season, Ajax's lead was reversed and lost the championship was definitely one of the biggest failures. Football is so cruel: a month ago, the Dutch Eredivisie had 9 points left in five rounds, and the championship trophy seemed to be sure to be the best birthday gift for the 36-year-old Italian coach Fali Li; one month later, Fali Li, who lost 10 points in five rounds and was reversed and missed the championship, burst into tears on the court, and then left with a seal.

For Ajax, this is a sudden free fall after the roller coaster reaches its highest point. But for Falili, the Italian young coach is still a popular potential stock pursued by the giants in the five major leagues. Top clubs in the Premier League, Serie A and Bundesliga are interested in him. British media and transfer expert Romano both said: Falli is the number one favorite to Tottenham's coach change this summer, and Roma in Serie A is also very interested. Ajax's "fall" did not make the Italian young coach lose his charm.

The young coach under the age of 45 swept the European football world, Falili is a very unique existence. When he was young, he studied philosophy at the University of Florence, and later obtained a degree in sports science, he was a pure "academic school". 10 years ago, Falioli, who was only 26 years old, entered the Hope Football School in Qatar and served as an analyst for the Qatar U17 National Youth Team. He met Dezelby, who made a splash in the Premier League, and has been following the latter to coach Benevento and Sassuolo. In March 2021, Falili independently coached Karaguruk, a weak team in the Turkish Super League. At the age of 31, he became the youngest coach in the top European league at that time. The weak Karaguruk actually ranked first in the Turkish Super League with a ball possession rate of 61.3%, and ranked second in the number of passes in more than 10 sports battles. In the summer of 2023, Nice, who coached Ligue 1, he once competed with Paris Saint-Germain for the top spot with Dezelby's high-level defensive tactics. He conceded only 29 goals in the season, 5 fewer goals than champion Paris Saint-Germain, and scored a clean sheet in 17 games.

Last Xia Falili took over Ajax, who had just experienced a disaster season and was rejected by almost all the famous Dutch coaches. The team ranked worst since the 1999/2000 season (5th place), with average scores per game (1.65 points) the lowest since the 1964/65 season (based on a 3-point scale). A large number of main players were sold, and the lineup value (204 million) was far inferior to Feyenoord (282 million) and Eindhoven (327 million).

Although Falili's defensive style is contrary to Ajax tradition, the Dutch giants who urgently need to return to the Champions League can only choose to believe it. Although he eventually lost the championship, Falioli's performance exceeded expectations at the beginning of the season. The team's points surged by 22 points from last season, with almost half of goals conceded (61 goals dropped to 32 goals), and the zero-point shooting surged from 5 games to 16 games. The number of rotations and number of starting lineups ranked first in the Eredivisie list. Falili almost completely relies on the "remnant lineup" left by his predecessor and internal potential. Italian young defender Bass and midfielder Taylor are outstanding representatives of his promotion of new players.

Improving the accuracy of the shooting has become the key to scoring points. Ajax only ranks ninth in the number of non-penalty shots, but his success rate of non-penalty shots reached 14.5%, which is only lower than Eindhoven. If it weren't for Groningen's 9th minute of stoppage time in the second round of the last round, he lost the initiative in the championship, Ajax would have been the Dutch champion with the least goals (67 goals) since the 2009/10 season (63 goals, Twente). Although he failed to surpass German Moss (36 years and 41 days, 1982/83 season) and became the youngest Eredivisie champion coach in Ajax's history, Falioli is still a favorite for the five major league giants to change coaches this summer. The Italian young coach resigned in anger against the backdrop of the Ajax management team refusing to provide more recruitment funds and retaining the main players.

But Falili is not short of giant suitors. Paratic, the Italian sports director who created the Juventus dynasty from 2010 to 2021, will return to the management of the Premier League giant Tottenham Hotspur in July. Given that coach Postkoglu will be dismissed regardless of whether Tottenham can win the Europa League or not, his compatriot Fali is the first choice for Tottenham's new coach whom he strongly recommends. In addition, Rome in Serie A also expressed interest in Falioli. But Paratic and coaching the Premier League are more attractive to Falioli, who can give him enough support in the market. Tottenham, which is at a low point this season, is like Ajax when he took over last summer, with the lower the starting point, the higher the possibility of rebounding.

After Fali announced his departure from Ajax on May 19, the Italian young coach ranked first in the odds list of the new coaches in Tottenham. British media revealed that Paratic is convincing Tottenham executives to hire "one of Europe's best young coaches." If Fali Li can coach Tottenham, he will be the second youngest coach in the Premier League in the new season, second only to Brighton's Hulzeler (32 years old).