Speaking at the Festival dello Sport in Trento, Cesc Fabregas opened up about his illustrious playing career and his new role as Como’s manager. The Spanish midfielder turned coach shared insights into his past experiences and his ambitious plans for the Italian club.
On his transition to coaching, Fabregas said, “During Covid, when everything was stopped, including LaLiga, I started taking the UEFA B coaching course. It was something I dreamed of at that point in my life.”
Discussing his approach as a manager, he emphasized the importance of mentality: “I and defeat are not friends. I’m not the player anymore, but the leader of a team. If I’m negative and downcast the morning after a loss, others will be too.”
Fabregas explained his decision to join Como: “I really liked the project when I started talking to the club. I was looking for a long-term project. They gave me the opportunity to end my playing career and start my coaching career.”
On Como’s future, he stated ambitiously, “My dream is to take Como as far as possible. Now we also have a growing sports center and a great staff. Como in Europe? It’s not crazy to think about it, it’s a dream. We hope to achieve it one day.”
Reflecting on his past, Fabregas praised former mentors: “Arsene Wenger was everything to me. He believed in me. He asked about family, school… he talked about things not normal for a coach and made you feel part of his project.”
He also shared a memorable anecdote about Lionel Messi: “Messi arrived from Argentina when he was 11/12 years old and was tiny. On his first day, we were doing one-on-one training. I confidently faced him, made two or three feints, then I slipped and Messi scored.”
Fabregas received a video message from Antonio Conte, who said, “I had the pleasure of having him as a player. A guy whose career speaks for itself. A player very open to listening and learning. I hope I left him something. He always wanted to know more.”
On his time with the Spanish national team, Fabregas concluded, “There was great humility and respect for each other. We all believed. We were all brothers. We didn’t think about winning the game, we just wanted to enjoy it. Then the result came by itself.”
