Fabregas Aims for Perfection in Frosinone Match
Cesc Fabregas has dragged Como from the shadows of Serie B to the bright lights of the Champions League in three frantic years. Yet as he prepares for a tricky trip to Frosinone on Sunday, he is in no mood to let the story get ahead of itself.
At the Stadio Benito Stirpe, kick-off 14.00 UK time, he wants one thing only: “the perfect performance.”
Not part of the Roma-Inter fight
Italy is gearing up for a Scudetto showdown between Roma and Inter on Saturday, a meeting many see as a potential title decider. Fabregas will be watching, but not because he thinks Como belong in that conversation.
“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 in his press conference.
That line matters. Como’s rise has been so steep that both media and opponents are still trying to work out what this club actually is now. Champions League in year three. A global-name coach on the touchline. Ambition everywhere you look.
Fabregas keeps dragging the lens back into focus.
‘I’m in the camp with zero titles’
Some have even suggested he is building a project at Como reminiscent of Johan Cruyff’s revolution at Barcelona. Fabregas shut that down quickly, and he did it by borrowing a line from another coaching giant.
“I am a long way from so many, let alone him,” he said. “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. 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.”
That is the real message. Continuity, not comparison. A long-term project, not a quick shortcut to the elite.
Frosinone ‘one of the five most difficult’ games
All of that future talk pauses now for a very present danger. Frosinone, promoted from Serie B in the summer, have taken two wins and a draw from their last three matches and carry the confidence of a side that believes it belongs.
For Fabregas, this is no routine away day.
“It is going to be one of the five most difficult matches of our Serie A season,” he insisted.
“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.”
A newly promoted side playing with no fear against the league’s surprise Champions League entrant: it has all the ingredients of a trap. Fabregas knows it.
Full squad back, big call in goal
For the first time this season, Como travel with a full squad. That alone changes the picture.
Jayden Addai returns to the bench after surgery on a torn Achilles tendon, a significant boost in attacking depth and a psychological lift for the dressing room.
The bigger dilemma is in goal. Jean Butez has been the long-term No. 1, the constant presence through Como’s rise. Now he faces serious competition from Robert Sanchez, on loan from Chelsea and carrying a CV stacked with trophies and high-pressure nights.
“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 rare luxury for Como: choice, everywhere on the pitch.
The club that sprinted from Serie B to the Champions League now walks into Frosinone with a full squad, a demanding coach, and a clear warning ringing in its ears: perfection, or pay the price.
