Fabregas: ‘Como deserved victory over Inter, dream is to challenge for more’
Cesc Fabregas feels Como ‘deserved victory’ in the 0-0 Coppa Italia semi-final after Inter ‘changed’ to neutralise their strengths. ‘I cannot lie, the dream is to challenge for more.’
Both coaches made some surprising choices for this first leg stalemate, as while the Nerazzurri had just one centre-forward at a time, the Lariani opted to have a False 9 in the form of Nico Paz for most of the match.
The hosts had the best chances with Mergim Vojvoda and particularly an Alex Valle miss from five yards, while Matteo Darmian clipped the upright from a tight angle for Inter.
Fabregas thought Como deserved victory
“The result is what it is. Overall, I feel that perhaps we deserved to score a goal, or at least got closer to scoring one,” Fabregas told Sport Mediaset.
“It was a chess match, very tactical, where against the most dominant team in Serie A, we played the game we wanted to. We were solid, had two or three very good chances, with Alex Valle where it seemed harder to miss than to score, but these things happen.
“Inter have dominated Italian football in the last five years, but they had only one shot on goal today. It leaves a slightly bitter taste in our mouths, because we feel like we could’ve at least won this 1-0.”
Considering some recent criticism, also in the wake of Como’s 4-0 defeat to Inter at San Siro in Serie A in December, does this performance give Fabregas a sense of payback?
“No, payback is for losers. There are people who wait three or six months for you to slip up, they leap up from their beds and can’t wait to attack you. However, intelligent people, those who are hungry and eager to learn, we are humble and open to listening to people’s opinions.
“There are 12 games to go this season, hopefully 13, but we’ve got to keep pushing. Now we’ve again got a game on Saturday afternoon, whereas Inter are scheduled for Sunday evening, so we hope to get some rest in.”
The game ended goalless, so it will all be decided at San Siro in the second leg of this Coppa Italia semi-final.
A firm date has not been set, but it will be April 21 or 22.
“I don’t know if Inter are favourites now, I just know we are Como and they are Inter. There is certainly a different mentality between the clubs and teams right now, at least for the moment. We keep trying to raise the bar,” noted Fabregas.
“We are playing in a Coppa Italia semi-final, so if you had told a Como fan or even me that when we were in Serie B two years ago, I doubt anyone would’ve believed you. There is a long way to go before the second leg, we have a lot of Serie A games to play first, and we have to focus on those.
“I think the real question is for Cristian Chivu, because Inter came here and played differently to how they usually do. They dominate in Serie A, press hard, don’t leave you any spaces, and I think my players put in a great performance today.”
It was put to Fabregas that the project at Como was not dissimilar to the epic Sampdoria of the early 1990s, which won the Scudetto and reached the European Cup Final with a strong investor.
“These are strong words for the future. This is the idea we thought of from Day One, when we started this project, this dream two years ago. It was a team coming from Serie B, we made important changes in January, and after a year we saw great improvement.
“We can continue like this with our feet on the ground. I cannot lie that the dream is to continue growing, and maybe when we are better-prepared, to challenge for something more.
“We must also never forget where we came from, as it is only two years of this project, and we are slowly raising the bar. We’ll see where we end up one day,” concluded Fabregas.