Fabregas: “No to Inter out of courage or fear? Let’s say I think a lot... Conte used to tell me how to pass the ball. My Serie A title? Seeing players grow”
Como’s manager has revisited his rejection of Inter in the summer of 2025
Cesc Fabregas has been one of the standout revelations of recent years among emerging coaches in Italy and beyond. His Como have gone from Serie B to the Champions League in a very short time and can keep dreaming big.
Speaking on stage at the Trento Sport Festival, organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Spanish manager also looked back on his no to Inter in the summer of 2025, how he sees the role of a coach and the club's next moves.
Como’s choice
"It started in a strange way. I didn't know what to do after Monaco. Sometimes you make decisions more with your gut than your head, and this is one of those. I used to go to Como many times with my family, but I didn't know there was a football team there."
Good football and victories
"A very interesting debate: what does it mean to play well? You have to pursue the idea you have with real conviction. At first, the president was focused on the club's structure. He wanted to bring in more tourism and, to do that, he needed attractive football.
The better the football, the more people want to come. That came up in the first conversation with the president. Then I brought in the people for the staff and the right players to follow our idea.
Winning is winning. It's not as if before every match I think: "How do I want to lose?" These days, at worst, I go home having lost with our idea. Because if you lose a match in a way you do not believe in, then the regrets are doubled".
Da Cunha
"The credit is all his. I believed in him, but the growth has been incredible because of the mentality and hunger he has, which are incredible. At the start I said this to Ludi and the club: I want people who are hungry, who are aiming to play for Real Madrid, Barcelona.
I prefer someone with less talent but an incredible hunger to build a career than someone who arrives with a great past and who has already made their money. This is what Como need."
Como’s signings
"Before buying anyone, the process is extremely long. I don't know how many meetings we hold; we are always thinking about the next transfer window so as to be six months ahead. I don't know who I will buy, but I do know the kind of profile I need to improve.
Ludi is doing an incredible job; in one transfer window he once carried out 31 deals between arrivals and departures. For a manager and for a club, something like that is not easy to handle: you start with a new team every six months. It helps you grow, but there is a huge risk because some players may lack experience and can slow down the growth process."
Conte
"I was already 29 when I had Conte at Chelsea. Before that I had Wenger and there was not so much tactics, he did not work so much on mentality, but he was very good at bringing in players with the same idea of football and giving you a lot of freedom.
Conte paid attention to detail, structure and movement. For me, at the beginning, it was even hard going. No one had ever told me where I had to pass the ball. The full-back passes me the ball, first time I play it to Diego Costa and he scores. I thought that was fine seeing as we had scored, but Conte at the end of training said: 'Nooo, football is not this', and he explains to me where I should have passed it."
No to Inter
"Was turning Inter down a brave choice, or was there also a bit of fear about going into a club of that size so soon after only a few years as a manager? I'm someone who thinks a lot and analyses a lot. I know that when people judge a manager at the end of his career, they'll count the trophies he's won, and it's right that it should be that way.
The most important thing is time, but a manager never gets any time: the clearest case is Arteta, who finished eighth three times and then fifth, and now after seven years has won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final. At Como we have a clear vision, we trust each other: I'd rather grow here and build this club's identity. If one day I leave Como, we all want whoever comes after me to carry on the project".
My Serie A title? Developing players
"A lot of lads came to Como because of me, and I do not say that arrogantly. They believed in me. Nico Paz came here from Real Castilla, and now there is talk of giving him Messi's No 10. Two years ago his dad put all his trust in me. I can say the same about Alex Valle, Perrone, Da Cunha and many others. When I look at them, I cannot go to other teams: I feel indebted, they trusted me and now I have to give them my whole life. For me, they are my Serie A title."
Young Italians and liberals
"I'm nobody to say what is wrong. We have now tried to create our own academy, which in practice was born two years ago. All these experts can tell you that it may take 10 years. We have three players in the Under-16s, three in the Under-17s, three in the Under-18s and so on, little by little we are building and moving forward. We want to bring them into the first team. You have to work, build, believe.
I'll take Liberali: when I spoke to him I told him, 'we are not taking you because you are Italian'. I like the way he plays, his personality in how he brings his football into a context that does not favour him physically. In front of him he has Nico Paz, Baturina, Caqueret, but if he does things well and deserves it, I couldn't care less about age. We are part of Italian football, I feel Italian, I'm always on holiday in Italy even though I live here. Now we are also trying to help in developing Italian footballers'.
Douvikas
"His story is interesting. We had analysed our squad after the first six months. We were playing as I had envisaged, but then we were missing the final ball, we were lacking physicality when defenders like Ndicka or Hien came up against us. We needed someone with that power, who knows how to score goals. He had scored goals in the Netherlands too. In Spain he had a high goals-per-game average but did not always play. I liked him enormously for his mentality, I had heard a lot about him. Mentality makes the difference in life. You need to have Douvikas's mentality, someone who after every match comes over and asks me where he went wrong and where he needs to improve."
