Como coach Cesc Fabregas says he learned ‘so much’ at Chelsea under Antonio Conte, but his men will need an ‘excellent performance’ to the Serie A leaders Napoli on Friday.
Como and Napoli open the Serie A Round 7 on Friday with a meeting at the Stadio Maradona.
It will be the first time Conte and his former Chelsea player Fabregas meet on the touchline, and the ex-Italy international recalled his time at Stamford Bridge with Cesc during a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“We don’t go to Napoli to play a Final. We have a long way to go, and they are the most in-form team in the league,” Fabregas said in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by Corriere dello Sport and Fanpage.
“We’ll need an excellent performance to win.
Fabregas learned ‘so much’ from Conte at Chelsea
“Conte is probably the best coach of the last few years. He was my coach at Chelsea for two seasons. I didn’t play initially but learned so much from him,” continued the former Spain international.
“He made me suffer a bit in training, but I respect him so much. He showed me things that I had never seen before in my career.
“He told me that at the beginning, I would not be part of the starting XI, but he was always respectful. I worked and didn’t talk, and after four months, I became a regular starter. I learned so much from his methods and his mentality.”
“He does question himself, and he has changed something at Napoli compared to his usual system. I think we’ve also found a system that suits our characteristics.”
Conte has switched his iconic 3-5-2 system to a 4-2-3-1, mostly to play former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay more regularly.
On the other hand, Fabregas started the season with a 4-4-2 formation with Andrea Belotti and Patrick Cutrone up front. However, he also switched to a 4-2-3-1 system, placing Alieu Fadera on the left wing and initially leaving Belotti on the bench.
Fabregas, 37, scored 10 goals and provided 22 assists in 86 Chelsea games under Conte.