Cesc Fàbregas Named Coach of the Year for Como's Rise

Cesc Fàbregas walked onto the Gran Gala del Calcio stage as the young coach of a “small reality.” He walked off as Coach of the Year.

In a room dominated by Italian football’s established powers, the Como head coach beat a field of far more experienced managers to claim one of the game’s most prestigious domestic awards, a clear endorsement of the work he is doing on Lake Como.

The moment carried extra weight. Waiting for him at centre stage was Roberto Mancini, Italy’s national team head coach, who handed over the trophy in person. A generational midfielder receiving recognition from a title‑winning manager of the Azzurri: a passing of the torch, played out under the spotlights.

A new coach among giants

On a night when Inter were named Club of the Year and Federico Dimarco collected Player of the Year honours, Fàbregas still managed to steal a share of the spotlight. His Como project, built on youth, ambition and a bold attacking idea, has become one of the most intriguing stories in Italian football.

“We made history with very young lads,” he said on stage, a line that summed up both the scale of the achievement and the identity of his team. The 37‑year‑old has backed youth and technical risk from the start, asking his players to be brave on the ball and proactive without it. That approach has not gone unnoticed; his tactics are now talked about across Europe, his name already filed under “one to watch” in the next generation of coaches.

Fàbregas, though, resisted any temptation to turn the evening into a personal coronation. He framed the award as a snapshot in a longer journey.

“Now we want to try to grow even further,” he said, pointing straight back to the work still to come rather than the acclaim already banked.

Como’s careful climb

For all the glamour of the gala, Fàbregas returned again and again to the reality of the club he represents.

“We are Como, a small reality, we go slowly,” he reminded the audience. The line cut through the ceremony’s glitz. This is not a superclub with limitless resources. This is a side trying to climb, one step at a time, in a league where patience is rare and pressure is constant.

That pressure, he insisted, is welcome.

“Every year the pressure rises and it is a pleasure. We take the pressure naturally.”

There was no hint of complaint in his voice, only a sense that rising expectations are a sign the project is working. Como’s growth has been measured rather than explosive, but the direction is clear: a solid base, a clear attacking identity, and a coach who wants his team to play on the front foot, even against bigger names.

“This award pleases me, it is an honour to be here,” he added, before circling back once more to the idea that the club’s development must remain sustainable. The message was consistent: enjoy the recognition, but don’t lose your balance.

Eyes back on Serie A

By the time the lights dimmed and the trophies were packed away, Fàbregas had already shifted his gaze back to the pitch. The gala goes into the history books; the league campaign resumes immediately.

With Coach of the Year now on his CV, scrutiny will sharpen. Every tactical tweak, every selection, every result will be measured against the standard he has set. He knows it. He welcomes it.

The task in front of him is clear: keep nurturing a young squad, keep refining that distinct attacking style, and keep moving Como forward in Serie A, step by deliberate step.

The award confirms what Italian football has started to understand. The real verdict, though, will come on the touchline, in the weeks and months ahead, as Fàbregas tries to turn a “small reality” into a permanent fixture in the big conversation.