Fabregas admires Gasperini, glad to avoid Australia, reveals ‘unpleasant’ Senegal conversation

Cesc Fabregas reveals he had an ‘unpleasant’ conversation with the coach of Senegal, prepares to face Roma, and is glad the Australian match with AC Milan seems to be off.

The Lariani are in action on Monday at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome at 19.45 GMT.

Nonetheless, the coach had his press conference this afternoon and is getting ready for another tough test after their 4-0 defeat to Inter.

“I am very curious to see how the team reacts to three consecutive away games, as it is a new experience for me too,” said Fabregas.

“At times we analyse things too much, and that is all my fault, I raise my hand in front of the players, the loss to Inter was my defeat because of the way I prepared against a top team.

“I saw their defeat to Liverpool and I think we did many things better than they did, but we are a work in progress. If I want Jacobo Ramon to become like Konate or Van Dijk, who made such a big difference defensively, then he needs to learn from these experiences.”

Despite that setback, Como are still flying high in the Serie A table and are ahead of Juventus.

“In the last 25 games, we lost only three, two of them against Inter and the other Bologna,” continued Fabregas.

“This is a competitive team, it doesn’t give up, it wants to play with its own identity.”

Fabregas is also not shy about standing up for his club, even if his power is ultimately not enough to really shift things.

This is revealed in the way he discussed losing Assane Diao to international duty with Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations next month.

“He is called up and I spoke to him after the game with Inter. I spoke to the coach of Senegal, it was an unpleasant conversation. They have all the power here. Diao will go, if that’s the way they want to deal with it. He’s leaving on Tuesday.”

When it comes to power, the clubs had been pushing to reschedule the Serie A game against AC Milan in Australia, but new problems make that unlikely.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen – fortunately!” replied Fabregas.

There are also concerns for Alvaro Morata due to injury, so he won’t be risked, and Tasos Douvikas should step in upfront.

Maxi Perrone is suspended in midfield and Sergi Roberto nowhere near fully fit either.

Gian Piero Gasperini has influenced so many coaches in Italian football over the years, including a relatively late arrival to Serie A like Fabregas.

“I know Gasperini is a special coach with remarkable methodology that he created, something very different within Italian football. Many coaches, Spanish an English, call me to ask why he does this or that.

“You have to say, wow, this is Gasperini. He created this vision for many years, a clear identity, and helps young players to grow, so for this I have enormous respect.”

Fabregas has also tried to create his own identity at Como, which is why he does not regret the aggressive approach against Inter, even if they lost 4-0.

“I hear Max Allegri at Milan saying they want to finish in the top four, but want to do it their way. I say the same, we want to get there with our own identity. I could’ve been more defensive against Inter, but for the way I see football, it wouldn’t have helped our growth process. We go to the Stadio Olimpico with our ideas.

“I saw the statistics of the Liverpool game, and Inter ran a lot more against us than with Liverpool. I want to create an identity here, which means going to San Siro and playing our game. You can call me arrogant for that, but I prefer this to just going to defend and hope for the best.”