How Cesc Fàbregas has transformed Como

Former Barcelona and Arsenal star Cesc Fàbregas is currently the head-coach of Italian Serie A club Como 1907. The club that was languishing in non-professional football a decade back due to financial difficulty has been transformed into a top Italian club that is currently playing in Europe’s elite competition, the UEFA Champions League. While some credit will of course go to the new owners who revived the club financially, a lot of the transformation is courtesy of the minority stakeholder and head-coach Cesc Fàbregas. 

Here we take a look at Como’s problems before Fabregas’s arrival, what has changed since his arrival and his style of play and tactics followed by conclusion. 

The Issues at Como

Como’s issues a few years back hadn’t just been on the pitch but also off it. They went through a very challenging period financially until the club was purchased by Indonesian tobacco company, the Djarum Group in 2019. The owners, Hartono Brothers quite literally rescued the club from the depths of despair and provided the stability required to run a football club. 

Prior to that, Como were struggling in Group D of Italian football, a non-professional football league. Como returned to professional football in 2021. The club brought in management changes with former player Giacomo Gattuso taking on the managerial position. The club managed to survive in Serie B that season, ending in 13th position. 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 a 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 Fabregas’ arrival 

Fàbregas’ association with Como didn’t start right away as a head-coach but unusually as a minority stakeholder and a 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 the Como U-19 and B Teams to earn his coaching badges. He secured his UEFA Coaching License 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 the interim coach, Fàbregas already showed his mettle with three wins, two draws and a loss in six games. Along with Roberts, Fàbregas led Como into the top division after Como finished second in Serie B. 

Fàbregas was promoted as the 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 in the top flight, ending in 10th place 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, the 2025/26 season saw much improved performances. They started the season in incredible fashion with only one loss from their first 13 games. 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 goalscoring team in the league after winners Inter Milan. For the first time in their history, Como secured the UEFA Champions League and it was Cesc Fàbregas who led them to a Champions League spot in only his second season as a head-coach. 

Style of Play, Tactics and Player development 

Any young coach’s style of football is influenced by the managers under whom he plays in his professional career. Fàbregas was fortunate enough to play under legendary coaches like Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and José Mourinho at Chelsea. 

His style of play also shows a mix of characteristics from the three distinctive playing styles but as someone who started his youth training in Spain, Fàbregas prefers possession-based football. According to Opta, his Como side had an average of 60.4% possession share which was the highest in the Serie A. Moreover, the idea of possession is not just to keep the ball but to initiate quick passing sequences with an intention to play the ball forward as soon as possible. 

Although the style is to build from the back, keep possession and create short passing options, the Spaniard places a lot of emphasis on creativity and encourages line-breaking and direct passing sequences if it makes a positive difference. He is an adaptable coach who appreciates vision and creativity.

His Como team isn’t just good on the ball but also out of possession. Last season, Como had the highest turnovers (86) in the Serie A. They are a front-footed and aggressive team that press high up the pitch and defend from the front too. Their PPDA (Opposition Passes per Defensive Action) of 7.8 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 deny the oppositions any space to build attacks or progress the ball. Their fouls committed (180) was the second most in Serie A, showing their desire to disrupt the opposition’s 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 into the best defensive record in the league last season. 

Como play a 4-2-3-1 formation which is a far cry from the usual 3-5-2 that is often deployed in the Italian Serie A. The idea for this formation is to have more control, flexibility and creating overloads to have numerical advantage on the ball. They pressurize the opponents, draw them close and then play passes through them. As a result, Como had the highest line-breaking passes (725) in the Serie A. They create the overload in the midfield, use their fullbacks and wingers to create width, leaving spaces in the middle to progress the ball centrally. Although, Como created a very high number of big chances, their finishing is something they can work on. Their conversion-rate is something that Fàbregas needs to help in improving further. 

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 ‘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 Fàbregas. Lucas Da Cunha, Alessandro Gabrielloni and Alieu Fadera are other players that have elevated their performances under Fàbregas. 

Conclusion

Cesc Fàbregas has definitely transformed Como from a team struggling in the second division to a force to be reckoned with in the Italian Serie A. Although, there is still a lot of work to be done, one thing is for certain, Como is a team that plays with a lot of confidence, creativity and intensity. Fàbregas has shown early signs of being a top-class coach but the litmus test awaits 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 the vision, his style and tactics but the difference off the pitch with the ambitious owners and the management can’t be underestimated. Having the right people in the right places helps any organization massively and Como has been a prime example of that. With Fàbregas leading his side into their first-ever Champions League and also competing in the Serie A this season, the sky is the limit for the former Barcelona midfielder. 

The next step is certainly to go further and win major silverware but Fàbregas has already proven that he is an excellent coach and many European giants are closely monitoring his progress with a lot of awe and vested interest. His Como side are creating a lot of waves in Europe and it will be fascinating to see just how far he can take the Lariani.