Not all footballers will make good managers, far from it. And in fact, not all those who have played the game even make good pundits. We have actually witnessed some former players become horrendous managers and pundits. Playing the game at any level does not automatically mean you have a good football knowledge.
Some footballers have high IQ’s, some are just super intelligent and will nail anything they put their minds to. Some players you watch in disbelief at their football intelligence and how clever they are, how well they read the game, and how they play two steps ahead of everyone else. Those are the kind of players that take my interest when they retire and go into coaching, and Cesc Fabregas is absolutely one of them.
I absolutely loved watching him play football. He just made the game look easy. And you could see when he was playing, how he was conducting the play, instructing those around him, and having a sense of leadership and influence as well, that he could potentially have the makings to become a very good manager. He has that Pep Guardiola about him (ironically both of them used to play for Barcelona).
The man used to wear a magic hat when he played for Chelsea, and I am pretty sure he still wears that hat now, just a coaching version of it!
At 36-years-old now, Fabregas is the current assistant manager at Como after filling in as the interim manager last season. He is taking things slowly, and rightly so, but he is quietly learning to be a top coach.
He has a clear understanding of tactical setups, and he is quickly becoming a tactical genius.
Obviously having tactical knowledge alone will not make you a good manager. He will need to gain experience at the top level, he will need to be a manager and prove himself. He will need to be flexible and pragmatic.
He will also need to make sure he can manage players on a personal level and keep motivation and spirits high amongst a large group of players. He will need to learn how to manage egos, unhappy players, the media, and the pressure. And he will need to be a leader.
But as a player, he also grew used to many of these elements, especially the pressure of doing it at the very top. He played for some of the best in some of the most high pressured games ever, and as I mentioned earlier, the guy is a natural leader.
But isn’t Cesc too nice to be a manager and instil discipline and leadership?
You’d be forgiven for thinking that, but it’s inaccurate. Cesc has been seen shouting and berating his players in the Como dressing room, and he certainly doesn’t hold back! I love seeing this kind of management. He is showing that he really can have it all in his coaching locker too.
Como are currently on course to be promoted to Serie A this season and have won their last 5 matches in a row. They are currently second, but they have been improving all season under the coaching of Cesc and manager Osian Roberts, who is actually the former assistant manager of the Wales national side, and Crystal Palace!
I’m certainly not advocating for Chelsea to go and hire Cesc as their next manager anytime soon, but they should certainly be keeping a very close eye on his progress and creating a good relationship with him at this stage, in the view to hiring him down the line. Because I have no doubts that he has the makings to become one of the next big managers, another Xabi Alonso perhaps, who was another super clever player on the pitch and now proving to be a super clever manager.
I love to follow along with stories like this. Some players retire and just leave the game, others try coaching and fail, some go into different businesses, others try different football routes such as punditry of directorship. For me, I think Cesc was not only born to be an elite football player, but also to become an elite football coach.
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