Can Fabregas be the next Pirlo at Chelsea?
Over the weekend as Chelsea eked out their second consecutive win under the regime of Antonio Conte’s fledgling career.
The only bone of contention was that of Cesc Fabregas starting on the bench. Brought from Barcelona to London by former Chelsea coach, Jose Mourinho, Fabregas has not been a guaranteed starter this season.
Antonio Conte prefers a pressing set up for his team, so as to defend better. Cesc, on the other hand, is a player who may have great technique when it comes to passing and distributing the ball but does not have the energy which N’Golo Kante brings to the side.
On the weekend, though, it was Fabregas’s exquisite pass that caught Watford off guard from a corner and Diego Costa applied the finishing touches to a swift move which ended up being the winner as well.
Fabregas – The Regista
Fabregas as a quarterback, in front of the rearguard, is not unimaginable. In their title-winning season, his pairing with Matic, ensured that the quartet of Oscar, Costa, Hazard and Willian could roam around freely in midfield creating havoc for opposing defences.
His natural ability is to collect the ball from deep and ping it forward with precision.
Nemanja Matic played with more conviction in that season and his energy compensated for Fabregas’s not so mobile movement in midfield. While Matic doesn’t close defenders as much, his defensive capability is more suited to Conte’s ideology of defending.
Conte believes that the defensive shield should be in a position to intercept, close down and pick the correct pass as well.
(Video Courtesy: Chelsea Football Club Youtube Channel)
Over the years, Fabregas has lost a considerable amount of speed, but his quality and intensity has never been in doubt. In his early years, he could take on the role of No.10, but with age and the No.10 position occupied by other players in the team, Fabregas has seen himself move further back the pitch and into a deeper position.
Carlo Ancelloti of AC Milan had the foresight to move Pirlo back from his natural position into a deep-lying playmaker role. From there, he could express himself, dictating the tempo and executing his pin-point through passes.
Pirlo, gained a new lease of life from his position as a regista and even went on to become the Serie Player of the Year – an honour which he won in the next two seasons.
Fabregas – the impact substitute
With talk of Juventus being interested in Fabregas in the early part of the summer, it might have seemed an obvious choice of destination for a player looking to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Andrea Pirlo.
But other options for the Italian club in the summer meant that the interest in Fabregas soon waned.
Chelsea on their part have instead preferred Kante and, currently the relationship between the club and player is more of convenience than dependence. Fabregas shares a close relationship with Costa and a telepathic connection was detectable between the pair when Fabregas set up Costa for the winner over Watford.
The all-action style of English football ensures that most teams will have to be fit for the entire 90 minutes in order to compete for points. Fabregas’s quick thinking and awareness ensured that he was quick to spot the drop in energy levels and make the pass that made the goal possible.
Fabregas has the energy and vision to come on as a substitute and provide the pass for the attackers in his team to score goals especially when the opposition is tiring. Eden Hazard one of the beneficiaries of the Spaniard’s passing ability has publicly praised Fabregas.
Fabregas has admitted that he doesn’t possess the legs anymore and reportedly told Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, “I have very honest with myself, I am not the quickest player, I am not the most mobile in terms of defensive abilities so I always have to be well perfected with the players from the back, midfield and strikers with very composed lines.”
Against teams which are at in the bottom half of the Premier league, there will be the requirement of a schemer who can unlock passes and supply the ball to the attackers who are moving between the lines. A quick changeover can essentially be initiated by the Spaniard as illustrated over the weekend.
What next for Fabregas?
Chelsea, this season, does not have the distraction of European football and Conte is still to establish himself in the Premier League.
By shielding Fabregas with Kante and Oscar ahead of him, Chelsea can ensure mobility as well as defensive solidity, with the ability to hurt mistakes by fielding the trio alongside each other.
Willian is also a mobile player and often gets into space and has the ability to latch on to passes that come from deep.
Picking the ball up from defence and initiating a move from the deep ensures that the forwards are always on the move and looking to score.
Costa can hold the ball up as well as bring the deep midfielders into play when he plays as a lone striker, but when a player of Fabregas’s ability is available, he would rather prefer runn towards the goal than playing with his back to the goal.
Conte’s ability to make the most of Fabregas is essential for Chelsea to maintain their title challenge as well. Conte knows he has to make the most of the available resources and that includes the World Cup and Euro winner, Fabregas.
Only time will tell, whether Fabregas can fulfill a deeper role under Costa or elsewhere.