Cesc Fabregas expresses his happiness with his experience with Como in the Champions League

Spanish Cesc Fabregas, coach of the Italian team Como, said that he is happy with his experience with his current team, which is playing in the Champions League for the first time in its history this season.

Fabregas took over Como's training in 2023 as a temporary coach, then was appointed to a permanent contract in the summer of 2024, and led the team to finish fourth in the Italian League last season to qualify for the Champions League this season.

Fabregas said in statements at an event in the Italian city of Trent: “The Cuomo project started with me strangely because I had many offers, but I felt that training Cuomo was the right decision. Sometimes you have to follow your feelings.”

He added: "It's funny that I used to visit Como a lot during vacation periods, but I had never heard of a football team here."

Fabregas praised the team's player, Frenchman Lucas da Cunha, describing him as one of the best players he coached in his career with the team, as he was one of the first players in the team's ranks when Fabregas took over, and thanks to his performance he participated with the French national team for the first time.

Fabregas said about the French player: “Da Cunha has a wonderful mentality and a desire to achieve many things. I love a player who has limited talent, but he always has ambition, and wants to have a wonderful career, compared to other players who are content with making financial gains.”

The German Football Association announced on Sunday that Julianne Guen, captain of the women's national team, will miss the team's upcoming matches due to injury.

Gwen, a Bayern Munich player, suffered a sprained ankle during the match against Eintracht Frankfurt last Saturday in the German League (Bundesliga), and was replaced in the final minutes of the match.

Gwen returned to the field a few weeks ago, ending a long absence that lasted more than 3 months due to undergoing shoulder surgery.

Christian Fock, coach of the German national team, was forced to call up Wolfsburg's Sarai Linder in place of Gowen.

The German national team, led by its coach Focke, will open its campaign this season by hosting Australia and Japan in two friendly matches in the cities of Karlsruhe and Bremen on October 9 and 13, as part of its preparations for the World Cup, which will be held in Brazil from June 24 to July 25, 2027.

Frenchman Picente Lizarazo, the former world and European champion, issued a sharp warning to Cristiano Ronaldo about the way his career with the Portuguese national team might end, considering that the “ego” that made a large part of his success might turn into his biggest opponent in the final stage of his career.

According to the Portuguese newspaper “Record”, Lizarazo held the three parties accountable. The Portuguese Federation, coach Jorge Jesus and Ronaldo are responsible for the current crisis, stressing that its continuation would be a “serious mistake,” given the status of the Al-Nasr captain and what he represents in the history of Portuguese football.

Lizarazo said that the end of the relationship in this way would be disastrous on the image level, stressing the need to find a formula that preserves Ronaldo’s status and gives him a farewell that is appropriate for his international career.

The former French international touched on the challenge facing senior players as they age, explaining that the difficulty for Ronaldo lies in accepting the decline in some of his physical abilities, after he built throughout his career the image of an invincible player.

He added that the solution requires a clear dialogue between Ronaldo, the coach, and the federation, through which the player knows his role precisely, whether by participating for specific periods or getting rest in other matches, warning that informing the player that he will participate, then keeping him off the field would harm trust between the two parties.

Lizarazo linked the crisis to Ronaldo's competitive personality, explaining that "ego" was one of the reasons for his reaching the top, after it pushed him to work exceptionally and break records, but at the end of the journey it may turn into a factor working against him.

Lizarazo concluded his speech with a striking warning to Ronaldo, saying: “This was your strength, but now it is your worst enemy. Because you have reached the age that you have, and you will end up in the Elephant Graveyard, I guarantee it.” The expression “elephant cemetery” is used metaphorically to refer to the place where adults end up after they refuse to acknowledge that their time is drawing to a close.