The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder has made a huge impact at Como as his first head coach, with the Italian upstart side defeating Juventus at the weekend
Cesc Fabregas has clashed with the Juventus manager after praising Arsene Wenger after a spine-chilling victory speech after Como’s historic victory over the Turin giants. A video of the former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder congratulating players in English and then swearing at them has gone viral.
“Just one word: I’m so proud of you,” Fabregas said.
But the 38-year-old Spaniard had a lot more to say after Como beat Juventus for the first time since 1952 and moved ahead of them in Serie A. Thierry Henry and former Gunners manager Wenger were also in the crowd at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, along with Fabregas, who was banned from the touchline.
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“Yes, I got the ticket,” said the World Cup winner. “He called me four weeks ago and gave me a chance to come.
“He took me to Arsenal. He didn’t see me on the bench, but we spoke for an hour before the game. It was a joy and an honor. I know what he did for me as a 16-year-old, he believed in me. I always carry this motivation and I try to do the same for the younger players.”
However, Juve manager Igor Tudor, who had branded Como a “fake club” in the lead-up to the match, was less than complimentary in the post-match press conference.
Como 1907, which went bankrupt in 2016, was acquired by the Indonesian billionaire Hartono brothers in 2019, when they were playing in Serie D. They returned to Serie A for the first time in 21 years last season under Dennis Wise as chief executive, and have been jointly the top two transfer earners in the last three transfer windows, along with Juve.
In the summer transfer window, they invested 100 million euros, acquiring Maximo Perrone from Manchester City and Nicolas Kuhn from Celtic. Como did not need the amount Tottenham offered Argentine playmaker Nico Paz in the summer.
“Have Como invested as much as we have? I’m not too concerned about the transfer fee,” said Tudor, who is under pressure ahead of the match against Real Madrid after a six-game winless run.
“Como are a small fake team. They have invested a lot and the manager has selected all the players, which is good. Juventus always have to win and that’s fair enough. And when they don’t win, a lot of people are always wrong. Any intellectually honest person understands this.”
Fabregas, who is also a Como shareholder, responded after the 2-0 win: “Tudor said they had signed the player I wanted, but maybe they just couldn’t explain things to him very well.”
“He used to call me ‘Como manager’ but I respectfully call him Mr Tudor. He always has to win with Juventus, not with us. We have different jobs.”
Croatian Tudor responded: “Fabregas can say whatever he wants.”
The Spaniard’s post-match speech, posted on social media by the club, was even more moving.
“Just one word, just one word. I’m so proud of you. From there (pointing to the stands) it’s so easy from there. It was so hard because you did it. We run, one minute, 20 minutes, 10 minutes. I don’t care.”
“It takes mentality to win at this soccer club and this team. Thank you so much. Let’s keep going.”
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