Cesc Fabregas Prepares Como for Tough Match Against Frosinone
Cesc Fabregas knows exactly where Como stand. And he is in no mood to let anyone get carried away.
On Sunday afternoon at the Stadio Benito Stirpe, his newly-minted Champions League side walk into what he calls one of the five toughest games of their Serie A season: away to an in-form, fearless Frosinone. For all the noise around Como’s meteoric rise, Fabregas keeps dragging the conversation back to the basics.
‘I’ve won zero titles’
In the build-up, he was asked the inevitable question: would he be watching Roma vs Inter, the heavyweight Scudetto clash that frames the weekend?
"In my view, they are the two strongest teams in Italy. I will watch it because I love football and think it is going to be an incredible game, not because they are our direct competitors for position," he said, cutting through any suggestion that Como belong in that conversation.
The comparisons have already started, of course. A young coach with a clear idea, a club with a bold project, a rapid ascent. Some have whispered about a Cruyff-style revolution on Lake Como. Fabregas swatted that away too.
"I am a long way from so many, let alone him. Jose Mourinho said there are coaches who have won titles and others who won zero titles, and I am in the latter camp.
"The most important thing is Como, not me. I am within this project and I give it my all."
That line tells you everything about his stance. The former midfield maestro, once the centre of attention at Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, is now intent on disappearing into the fabric of the club.
Time, continuity and a project taking shape
Como’s rise has been dizzying: from Serie B to the Champions League in three years. It has unsettled the usual hierarchy and left observers scrambling to define their ceiling. Fabregas, though, insists this story is only sustainable if patience wins out over impulse.
"The key for a coach is time to work, and I think this team has improved so much over the last two years. If we can continue with this same side for two, four, five years, then we can really do something, but if we change every six months, it's difficult."
There is ambition here, of course, but it is wrapped in realism. He sees a squad that has grown together, that has learned his demands, that is still some way from its peak. Continuity, not fireworks, is the word he keeps coming back to.
Frosinone: ‘One of the five most difficult matches’
All of that long-term vision pauses for 90 minutes in Frosinone.
Promoted from Serie B in the summer, Massimiliano Alvini’s side have started their campaign with a jolt: two wins and a draw in their last three games, and performances that have caught Fabregas’ eye.
"It is going to be one of the five most difficult matches of our Serie A season," he warned.
"Frosinone are in great form, watching them I can see 11 friends giving their all for each other, they play with courage and on the front foot. We need the perfect performance and I really enjoyed seeing Massimiliano Alvini's team in action.
"They have a fluidity and a very positive mentality, they're a genuine danger for anyone they face, and if we want to win, we need our best performance of the season."
That is not a coach protecting himself. It is a coach who has studied the opponent and respects exactly what they bring: energy, cohesion, and a refusal to be cowed by reputations.
A full squad and a big call in goal
For the first time this season, Fabregas has his entire squad available. Jayden Addai returns to the bench after surgery on a torn Achilles tendon, a significant boost for the months ahead.
His biggest decision, though, sits between the posts.
Jean Butez has been the long-term No.1, the constant presence through Como’s surge up the divisions. Now he has competition from Robert Sanchez, on loan from Chelsea and fresh from the pressure cooker of a club that demands trophies.
"Sanchez arrived from a very important club, he won trophies and knows how to deal with constant pressure to win. We didn't expect him to come here, but it's important for every player to get rest, even the goalkeepers. The last game was the first time in a year and a half that Butez didn't start.
"That was a test, we'll take it one game at a time and see what happens."
It is a subtle message: no positions are guaranteed, not even for the players who helped build the story. Competition is part of the next step.
Como travel to Frosinone with their project intact, their coach grounded, and their status still somewhere between upstart and contender. If they can deliver the "perfect performance" Fabregas demands in one of their sternest tests, how long can he keep insisting he belongs in the camp of coaches with "zero titles"?
