Why Cesc Fabregas should be on the managerial shortlists of Europe's biggest clubs this summer as Como chase silverware and Champions League qualification

It's important to acknowledge right from the off that Como wouldn't have gone from the fourth tier of Italian football in 2019 to seventh in Serie A today without the massive financial backing of the Djarum Group, which is led by the Hartono brothers, Robert Budi and Michael Bambang, two of the richest men on the planet.

It also helps that the club's stadium is located right on the shore of one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy, Lago di Como, which attracts tourists - and celebrities - from all over the world.

However, it was the promise of playing a key role in an incredibly ambitious project that convinced Fabregas to join Como in 2022 - and not only as a player, but a share-holder too.

"I didn't care about the money," the Spaniard insisted. "I just wanted to join a project that excited me. I see a long-term future for this club."

Perhaps most importantly of all for Fabregas, he was considered an integral part of the plan, as a clear pathway into management was part of Como's original pitch to the ageing playmaker. Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger had never been in any doubt that such an intelligent and versatile footballer would eventually move into management, but Fabregas' promotion to Como's senior squad still came quicker than anyone anticipated.

After retiring during the summer of 2023, he immediately started working with Como's Under-19s and B teams, but had yet to secure all of his UEFA qualifications when the club sacked Moreno Longo less than three months into the new season. Consequently, Como had to appoint Osian Roberts as the caretaker coach until the end of the 2023-24 campaign, and name Fabregas as the Welshman's assistant.

The Spaniard was quite clearly calling the shots, though, and bestowed with more influence and control over the club than the vast majority of his managerial counterparts in Italy. Think Pep Guardiola at Manchester City - but on a much smaller scale.

"At Como, we basically started from zero," he explained. "We didn't even have a training ground. The structure around the club was very poor. So, I took time to think about what we could do not just for the first team but also the academies."

Fabregas also expended an impressive amount of time and effort developing his footballing philosophy.

"We analysed every tactical structure that exists in football and asked, what do we think is the best way to attack this structure? We basically had a database of information based on what I always thought was the best way to attack the formation I'm playing against," Fabregas explained. "I don’t want to be the coach that always has the same way of playing, the same way of attacking and defending. Yes, you have principles and structures. But I want to be as dominant as possible, and nowadays to be dominant, you need to have as many solutions as possible.

"Because it's not the same to attack a team that will defend deep in a 4-5-1 as it is to attack a team that goes man to man and follows you around the pitch, like Atalanta."

This meticulous, in-depth approach has certainly paid off. At the end of Fabregas' first season in charge, Como were promoted to Serie A via a second-placed finish in Serie B, with the promise of an all-expenses-paid trip to Ibiza proving a masterstroke in man-management.

Then, after a trying start to their first top-flight campaign for 21 years, Como ended up finishing 10th, resulting in Inter making an approach for Fabregas that was immediately rebuffed by his employers. "Our journey is long, it will last several seasons and revolves around Cesc Fabregas, who will not leave the club," president Mirwan Muwarso declared.

While there were reports that Fabregas was open to succeeding Simone Inzaghi at San Siro, he never had any intention of forcing his way out of a club that he remains deeply and literally invested in. What's more, staying at Sinigaglia hasn't done his development or career prospects any harm whatsoever, as he now has Como on the cusp of qualifying for continental competition for the first time in the club's history.

Going into Wednesday's meeting with AC Milan, the Lariani sit seventh in Serie A, just one point behind Atalanta in the Conference League spot, while they're also already through the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, where they'll face Inter in a two-legged tie.

The visit of Massimiliano Allegri's Milan also represents another intriguing test of not only Fabregas' tactical acumen, but also his maturity as a manager. When the two teams met at Sinigaglia just over a month ago, Como dominated possession and territory, posting vastly superior numbers in nearly every single aspect of the game apart from where it matters most - the scoreboard.

Consequently, when it came to facing the cameras after his side's hugely frustrating 3-1 defeat, Fabregas ended up sounding a little bitter.

"Those who focus on results will enjoy this game," he said, seemingly taking aim at the 'winning is the only thing that counts' mentality that's prevalent in Italy. "But those who enjoy watching football will think Como wins eight times out of 10. We made 700 passes, they made 200 - incredible."

The infamously pragmatic - and successful - Allegri was less than impressed with Fabregas' implication that Milan had been fortunate to win.

"Luck is a part of life, but it's disrespectful to reduce our results to chance," the Rossoneri coach told reporters. "We know we have to work hard, but this team has the humility to understand its limits and work within them. Fabregas is a young coach who has already achieved a lot and will do a lot, but, in matches, ifs and buts count for little."

In fairness to Fabregas, he hadn't come across as remotely arrogant before the game, when he said that compared to a Champions League-level manager like Allegri, he was Serie D standard, while he's also since humbly acknowledged that he needs to better "manage my emotions" in the immediate aftermath of matches.

He's by no means one of the more combustible coaches in Italy, though - Allegri's more renowned for meltdowns than Fabregas - and based on his rather measured reaction to last weekend's shock defeat at home to Fiorentina, he's already learning how to deal with disappointment.

Furthermore, while Fabregas scolded veteran striker - and former team-mate - Alvaro Morata for stupidly getting himself sent off against Fiorentina on Saturday, he took full responsibility for Como throwing away three points that would have put them right back in contention for a top-four finish.

"I'm annoyed that I wasn't able to help the boys understand the importance of the game," he told DAZN. "I talked to them about my experience as a footballer during the week, maybe too much, but it wasn't enough. We made a mistake in our attitude, we have to show more desire and be better in attack if we want to play our game."

Como's game centres on building from the back and hogging the ball in what is ostensibly a 4-2-3-1 formation. It's the kind of adventurous approach that technically-gifted players love, which is why the likes of Nico Paz and Jacobo Ramon have flourished under Fabregas - and could yet be bought back by Real Madrid in the not-too-distant future.

"Having a legend as a coach is incredible," Paz told the club's media channel. "He's a person that puts you at ease and who teaches you a lot, both about life and about football."

At times, though, Fabregas has faced accusations within the Italian press of being too wedded to a tactical approach that is very clearly influenced by the possession-obsessed Spain side with which he enjoyed so much success. For example, after December's 4-0 drubbing by Inter at San Siro, he was asked if he'd considered adopting a less offensive strategy and replied, "I did think about it, but my head said no. I am pleased with this, to be honest. It might make me seem stupid or like a loser. 

"But I do feel that there was growth from my team today, which doesn’t happen when you win and people call you a genius. After a heavy defeat, you learn more, you appreciate everything a little bit better. But Como are doing things the right way. You can approach a game defending with a 6-3-1 formation, or 5-4-1, but I prefer to lose 4-0 than do that."

However, Fabregas certainly isn't as stubborn as he sounded on that particular occasion. In the very same interview, he revealed that he would return to San Siro on his own to watch Inter play Liverpool later that month to figure out what he could have done better against the Nerazzurri, while he's also been at pains to point out that he was exposed to all sorts of different tactical approaches during his playing days.

"I won with Antonio Conte, I won with [Jose] Mourinho, I won with Wenger, I won with Guardiola," he told The Coaches' Voice. "I won with every different style of play, so you'll never hear me say that one works and another doesn't.

"Also, on the day I arrived, the club, the ownership talked to me about Lake Como, lifestyle, people who want to see a front-footed play-style. That’s what I was asked for. They didn’t say: 'Win, win, win.' They said: 'Win, but create an identity, create a specific kind of player who would want to come and play in Como.'"

He's unquestionably realised that particular goal. Como is no longer solely an attractive destination for celebrities. It's also now home to one of the most respected projects in world football - and a fascinating figurehead who might just prove just as good a coach as he was a player.