Cesc Fabregas: Como Must Deliver Perfect Performance Against Frosinone

Cesc Fabregas insists Como will need “the perfect performance” at Frosinone on Sunday, brushing aside any talk of a Scudetto fight and even turning Jose Mourinho’s famous line on himself: “I’ve won zero titles.”

Kick-off at the Stadio Benito Stirpe is at 14.00 UK time (15.00 CEST), a stage that would have felt unthinkable for Como not long ago. The Lariani have rocketed from Serie B to the Champions League in three years, a rise so steep that nobody seems quite sure where to place them: surprise package, future powerhouse, or a project still in its fragile phase.

Fabregas wants no illusions.

‘Roma and Inter are the two strongest teams’

On the eve of the trip to Frosinone, the Como coach was asked if he would watch Saturday’s Scudetto showdown between Roma and Inter, and whether he saw his side belonging 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.

The comparison game has already started around him. Some have suggested he is quietly building at Como what Johan Cruyff once constructed at Barcelona. Fabregas cut that down instantly.

“I am a long way from so many, let alone him. 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.”

No grand claims. No shortcuts. Just the grind of a long-term project.

Frosinone test: ‘One of the five most difficult matches’

The focus now is brutally simple: Frosinone away.

Promoted from Serie B in the summer, Massimiliano Alvini’s side have arrived in Serie A swinging, with two wins and a draw from their last three games. They play with energy, cohesion, and no fear. Fabregas has noticed.

“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.”

For a coach who has just taken Como into the Champions League, that is a striking line: Frosinone, one of the five toughest games of the season. It underlines exactly where Fabregas thinks this team really is — and how thin the margins remain.

Full squad back, big call in goal

There is at least one major boost. For the first time this season, Como will have a full squad available.

Jayden Addai returns to the bench after surgery on a torn Achilles tendon, a significant step in his recovery and another attacking option for Fabregas as the season wears on.

The other decision is more delicate. In goal, Fabregas must choose between long-standing No. 1 Jean Butez and new arrival Robert Sanchez, on loan from Chelsea.

“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.”

A coach who calls Frosinone away one of his five hardest games, who openly labels himself a “zero titles” manager, who refuses to indulge in Scudetto talk even with the Champions League secured — that is a man trying to keep his club’s feet firmly on the ground.

On Sunday in Frosinone, we find out if Como can match that realism with the perfection he’s demanding.