Cesc Fabregas has made history as the third non-Italian manager to win the Serie A Coach of the Year award. He received this recognition for his work with Como during the 2025/26 season.
Fabregas accepted the award at the Gran Galà del Calcio AIC ceremony. This event took place at Teatro alla Scala in Milan on Wednesday.
The Italian Footballers’ Association, AIC, named the former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder as the Serie A Coach of the Year. Inter Milan was also honoured as the league’s Club of the Year.
Lega Serie A stated that the ceremony celebrated outstanding performers from the 2025/26 season. “Cesc Fàbregas” received the “premio di Allenatore dell’Anno” while Inter was named “Società dell’Anno.”
The league body shared: “Il riconoscimento di Migliore Assoluto è stato assegnato a Federico Dimarco. Cesc Fàbregas ha ricevuto il premio di Allenatore dell’Anno, mentre l’FC Internazionale Milano è stata eletta Società dell’Anno.”
This award caps a historic season for Como. The team finished fourth in Serie A, earning Champions League football for the first time.
Reuters reported that Como “have Champions League football to look forward to this season after a fourth-placed finish brought the club European qualification for the first time.”
Como’s fourth-place finish came with 71 points. They ended up behind champions Inter, Napoli, and Roma in the final standings.
Fabregas’ achievement puts him alongside two other well-known foreign managers who have won the Serie A Coach of the Year award. These are Sweden’s Sven-Göran Eriksson and Portugal’s José Mourinho.
Eriksson became the first non-Italian winner after guiding Lazio to the 1999/2000 Serie A title. Mourinho later won the award in consecutive seasons after leading Inter to success both locally and in Europe.
Fabregas’ award follows Como’s impressive rise under his management. The club’s fourth-place finish secured their first Champions League qualification, confirmed at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
The 2026 Gran Galà del Calcio also saw Como midfielder Nico Paz named the Serie A Young Player of the Year. Federico Dimarco from Inter was voted the overall best player of the 2025/26 season.
The official Lega Serie A announcement mentioned that the awards were based on votes from the players themselves. The Goal of the Year award was decided by fans.
At 39 years old, Fabregas now joins Eriksson and Mourinho as the only non-Italian managers to have won the Serie A Coach of the Year award.
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