"A player who thought the game became a manager who teaches others to think it": the road to Fàbregas being named Serie A's best coach

By the shores of Lake Como, what Fàbregas chose

Lake Como in northern Italy is a beautiful place popular with tourists.

But the club on its shores has created no small ripple across European football.

Cesc Fàbregas has been named Serie A's best coach.

Como, a club long absent from the Serie A stage, achieved promotion under Fàbregas's leadership, and in his very first season, the manager received the highest praise.

Many will already know this. Fàbregas is the player who, from his teenage years, seized a regular starting spot at Arsenal, and went on to be a central figure in midfield at Barcelona and Chelsea. Now, that same man stands on the touchline in a coach's jacket.

What kind of manager does a player with 'the ability to read the game' become?

When people described Fàbregas as a player, the phrase often used was 'he has great vision.'

But that wasn't simply a matter of 'seeing well.'

What made him exceptional was that he processed the situation before the ball even reached his feet, already narrowing down his next options. He wasn't thinking while moving; he was moving while thinking. That was the kind of player he was.

Every time a pass found its target, commentators would tilt their heads and wonder 'how could he see that pass,' because his judgment was always a beat ahead.

What would someone with that quality want to pass on to players as a coach?

Probably not 'run faster' or 'kick harder.' More likely, 'judge for yourself what is happening right now.' And perhaps that message is delivered not as a command, but as a question.

The meaning behind choosing Como

When Fàbregas took over as manager, Como were in Serie B.

When a retired star player begins a coaching career, in many cases they can start from an environment where prestige is already established — as an assistant coach, or at the youth academy of a well-known club. That route was surely available to him too.

But he chose Como.

Why there? Only he truly knows. But at the very least, one thing can be said: he did not choose the easy path. Taking his first step as a manager with a Serie B club. If results didn't come, he would face criticism. His lack of experience would be picked apart. Even so, he stood there.

And he led the team up to Serie A, and in his very first season was named best coach.

In the face of the common belief that 'you cannot speak without experience'

In the world of football coaching, there is an unspoken hierarchy.

The longer one's professional playing career, the more persuasive one is considered, and coaches who built results at big clubs tend to be rated more highly. In one sense, that's fair. There are certainly things that can only be learned through experience.

But at the same time, I have witnessed other scenes.

Coaches with professional playing experience who impose their own former methods on players, causing players to stop 'thinking' for themselves. And, conversely, coaches without extensive playing experience who transform a team by watching matches closely and building dialogue with players.

This isn't a question of which is 'right.'

It is simply a fact that football repeatedly teaches us: 'quantity of experience' and 'quality of thought' are not necessarily proportional.

In Japanese youth development settings too, similar scenes exist. Voices such as 'if you weren't a former pro, no one will listen to you' or 'there's an atmosphere where young coaches find it hard to speak up' are still not uncommon. Fàbregas's case seems to quietly point at something in response to that atmosphere.

What is happening on Como's pitch

Como certainly does not possess the kind of squad that can go toe-to-toe with Serie A's top clubs.

Even so, this team has a certain consistency.

Everyone is trying to read the situation. Rather than simply filling positions, they are trying to use space. The footballing philosophy that Fàbregas embodied throughout his playing career seems to have seeped into the team through him as a coach.

Whether this is the 'correct' approach is something that will become clear only with time.

But at least for now, by the shores of Lake Como, the players are being asked to 'play while thinking.'

Fàbregas found his answer by taking the long way round

Being a top-class player is no guarantee of becoming a top-class coach.

But there are certainly people who can carefully translate the 'shape of thought' they cultivated as players into the act of coaching.

His days at Como were not a shortcut for Fàbregas.

Even so, he chose that path, rose to Serie A together with his team, and was recognized there.

How you think when you start matters more than where you start — it changes the view that follows.

The manager Cesc Fàbregas has already shown us this.

NEWDIH ／ Perspectives & Methods