How Cesc Fàbregas has transformed Como
Former Barcelona and Arsenal star Cesc Fàbregas is the head coach of Serie A outfit Como 1907, who were languishing in non-professional football a decade back due to financial difficulty but have been transformed into a top Italian club and are making their debut in the UEFA Champions League this season.
While a fair chunk of credit has to go to the new owners to revive the club financially, a lot of the transformation Como have undergone on the pitch is down to Fàbregas, who’s also a minority stakeholder in the club.
Here, we take a look at Como’s problems before Fàbregas’s arrival, what has changed since then, and his style of play and tactics.
The issues at Como
Como’s issues going back a few years weren’t just on the pitch, but also off it. They went through a very challenging period financially before being purchased by Djarum Group, an Indonesian tobacco company, in 2019. The owners, the Hartono brothers, rescued the club from the depths of despair and provided them some much-needed stability.
Before their arrival, Como had been struggling in Serie D, a non-professional division of Italian football. Como returned to professional football in 2021. They brought in management changes, with former player Giacomo Gattuso taking on the managerial role. The club managed to survive in Serie B that season, finishing 13th in the table. The 2022/23 season ended in the same fashion, although Gattuso had to leave midway and Moreno Longo had taken charge.
Fàbregas joined Como as a minority stakeholder and player in August 2022. Former Arsenal striker and French legend Thierry Henry also joined as a minority owner a few months later.
The transformation since Fàbregas’ arrival
Fàbregas’ association with Como didn’t start right away as a head coach, but unusually as a minority stakeholder and player in August 2022. He joined the club as a player when they were in the Italian second division. He retired from professional football the following season and started coaching their U19 and B teams to earn his coaching badges. He secured his UEFA coaching licence in 2023.
In November 2023, he took charge of the Como first team as an interim coach after the dismissal of Moreno Longo. Fàbregas worked with caretaker manager Osian Roberts after December 2023 as an assistant coach until the end of the season. In his reign as interim coach, Fàbregas showed his mettle with three wins, two draws, and a loss in six games. Alongside Roberts, Fàbregas led Como into the top division with a second-placed finish in Serie B.
Fàbregas was promoted to the role of first-team head coach ahead of the 2024/25 season. The first season in the top flight was challenging for Fàbregas and Como, but they managed to survive, finishing tenth with 49 points with 13 wins, 10 draws, and 15 defeats. It was a fabulous achievement for a side that hadn’t been in the Italian top division for two decades. Besides top-flight survival, Fàbregas also made them play a very attractive and entertaining brand of football.
However, the Spaniard wasn’t done yet, and the 2025/26 season saw much improved performances. They started the season in incredible fashion with only one loss from their first 13 games. Ultimately, Fàbregas led them to a miraculous fourth-place finish and the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia. Como ended the 2025/26 season with 71 points, which included 20 wins, 11 draws, and only seven defeats. They were also the second highest goal-scoring team in the league after winners Inter.
For the first time in their history, Como secured Champions League football, and it was Fàbregas who led them there in only his second season.
Style of play and tactics | Player development
Any coach’s style of football is influenced by the managers they play under. Fàbregas was fortunate enough to play under legendary coaches like Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, and José Mourinho at Chelsea.
His tactics show a mix of characteristics from the three distinctive playing styles, but given he started his youth career in Spain, Fàbregas prefers possession-based football. According to Opta, his Como side had an average of 60.4% possession share in the first half of last season, the highest in Serie A. The idea is not just to keep the ball, but to initiate quick passing sequences, looking to play the ball forward as soon as possible.
Although Fàbregas prefers building out from the back, keeping possession, and creating short passing options, he also places a lot of emphasis on creativity and encourages line-breaking balls and direct passing sequences if it makes a positive difference. He is an adaptable coach who appreciates vision and creativity.
His Como team aren’t just good on the ball but also out of possession. Last season, Como had the highest turnovers (86) in the division. They’re a front-footed and aggressive team who press high up the pitch and defend from the front too. Their PPDA (opposition passes per defensive action) of 7.8 during the first half of last season was the lowest not just in Italy but also across Europe’s top five leagues.
The Lariani are a relentless pressing machine that simply suffocates the opposition with intense pressing up the field and denies them any space to build attacks or progress the ball. Their fouls committed (180) were the second-most in Serie A, showing their desire to disrupt opposition attacks. Como also conceded the least number of goals (29) in the Serie A last season. Their defensive actions aren’t haphazard and chaotic, though: they defend high up the pitch due to their intense pressing, which also culminated in the best defensive record in the league last season.
Como play primarily in a 4-2-3-1 formation, which is a far cry from the usual 3-5-2 that is often deployed in the Italian top flight. The idea for this formation is to have more control and flexibility to create overloads for a numerical advantage on the ball. Como pressurise their opponents, draw them close, and then play through them.
As a result, Como had the highest line-breaking passes (725) in Serie A last season, creating overloads in midfield, using wide players to create width, and leaving spaces in the middle to progress the ball centrally. Although Como created a very high number of big chances, finishing is something they have to work on.
Coming to player development, Fàbregas has worked wonders with young players like Nico Paz, who has transformed into a top attacking midfielder under him. Paz won the league’s Young Player of the Year award for his performances in the 2024/25 season with four goals and four assists. Patrick Cutrone achieved his career-best goalscoring form under him, while Lucas Da Cunha, Alessandro Gabrielloni, and Alieu Fadera also elevated their performances under the Spaniard’s tutelage.
Conclusion
Cesc Fàbregas has definitely transformed Como from a team struggling in the second division to a force to be reckoned with in the top flight. Although there’s still a lot of work to be done, one thing is for certain: Como are now a team who play with confidence, creativity, and intensity.
Fàbregas has shown early signs of being a top-class coach, but the litmus test awaits him against the elite European sides in the Champions League.
The credit for the Como transformation on the pitch definitely lies with Fàbregas and the players who have bought into his vision, style, and tactics. But the difference off the pitch with the ambitious owners and management can’t be underestimated. Having the right people in the right places helps any organisation, and Como have been a prime example of that.
With Fàbregas leading the club into their first-ever Champions League campaign, while also aiming to go higher in Serie A, the sky is the limit for the former Arsenal and Barça midfielder.
The next step is certainly to go further and win major silverware, but Fàbregas has already proved that he is an excellent coach, and many European giants are closely monitoring his progress with awe and interest. His Como side are creating a lot of waves in Europe, and it will be fascinating to see just how far they can go.
