Como's final day ended with a 4-1 win away at Cremonese, then a wait for the other result to settle. What followed was less about the table and more about Cesc Fabregas' reaction. He gathered the players on the pitch, told them, "What are we doing next year? Champions League!" and then described them as probably the best group he will ever coach.

Why Fabregas made this about the squad

Fabregas' strongest line was also the clearest explanation of what this season meant to him. Speaking to football-italia.net, he told the players: "You are the reason this is so beautiful. I thank you for the rest of my life because this is probably the best group I will ever coach in my future."

That is a huge thing for any coach to say in public, especially on a day when it would have been easy to centre the achievement on management, recruitment or the scale of the club's rise. Instead, he went hard in the other direction. He called the team a masterpiece.

Speaking to metro.co.uk, Fabregas said: "This is a squad full of kids, we've got 15 players who are all under 23, so it's a masterpiece from the whole team."

That point matters because the final-day performance backed it up. Lucas Da Cunha posted an 8.2 rating and scored twice. Jesús Rodriguez was rated 7.9. The numbers fit the way Fabregas framed it: this was not one player dragging Como over the line, it was a team performance in the biggest game of the season.

He also told the squad, according to metro.co.uk: "I have no doubt you will be remembered forever." That can sound overblown when it comes from the outside. It lands differently when it comes from a coach who has seen the club's starting point up close.

The final day still came with a complication

The source reports describe Como as sealing a Champions League place, with the story turning on their own win and Milan losing 2-1 at home to Cagliari after scoring in the first minute. Fabregas said he had sensed it coming. In his words to football-italia.net: "I told you the day before Parma, we win the two games, we are in the Champions League. I don't know why I told you, I had a feeling, I always get my responses by feeling."

There is a catch, and it cannot be ignored. The verified stats pack lists Como 5th on 68 points, not 4th. So while the emotional scene and the source narrative are consistent, the exact finishing-place claim is not fully clean.

That does not make the reaction any less real. It just means the achievement has to be described carefully. The articles present it as a Champions League breakthrough, while the standings data in the brief creates a clear discrepancy around the official finishing position.

Even within that uncertainty, the tension of the day is obvious. The decisive final moments were watched by Como players from the sidelines on a mobile phone. After taking care of their own job at Cremonese, they still needed confirmation elsewhere.

Why this season still stands out

The bigger picture helps explain why Fabregas sounded like this. Como were in Serie B a couple of years ago. They returned to Serie A in 2024 after 21 years away from the top flight. This season they also reached the Coppa Italia semi-final for the first time in their history.

There was spending behind the climb, and that should be part of the conversation. The brief lists almost €127m invested in new signings. But the wage bill was €47m, only the 11th-highest in Serie A, which makes the season look more impressive than a simple money story.

Their league numbers were strong enough to support that. The verified table gives Como 68 points and 61 goals. Only Inter, on 89, scored more in Serie A according to the brief. So even if the exact Champions League qualification line is disputed by the standings data, this was still a high-end season by any sensible measure.

Fabregas hinted he is not in a rush to turn it into a stepping stone. Speaking to metro.co.uk, he said: "I am very happy here, so it’s true that timing is important, but I am very happy with what we are doing here."

That feels like the right note to end on. The final table detail still needs careful handling, but the shape of the season does not. Como finished on 68 points, won 4-1 on the final day, and left Fabregas telling his players they would be remembered forever.

FAQ

Why was Cesc Fabregas so emotional after Como's final-day win?

Fabregas used the moment to praise the squad rather than himself. After Como's 4-1 win at Cremonese, he told the players they were the reason the achievement was so beautiful and called them probably the best group he will ever coach. He also told them, "What are we doing next year? Champions League!"

Did Como officially finish fourth to qualify for the Champions League?

The source articles describe Como taking fourth and a Champions League place on the final day, but the verified stats pack lists Como 5th on 68 points. That discrepancy matters, so the safest reading is that the articles present it as a Champions League breakthrough while the standings data does not cleanly support a straightforward fourth-place claim.

How young is this Como squad under Fabregas?

Fabregas said the squad had 15 players under 23 and described the season as a masterpiece from the whole team. That youth profile is a big part of why his post-match reaction carried weight, because he framed the group as overachieving together rather than leaning on one established star.

How did Como perform on the final day against Cremonese?

Como beat Cremonese 4-1 away on the final day. Lucas Da Cunha posted an 8.2 rating and scored twice, while Jesús Rodriguez recorded a 7.9 rating. Fabregas' praise for the group matched the numbers from that game, because several players delivered in the biggest match of the season.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →