Monaco (AFP)

"His quality is to understand the game, to be in the right place to give continuity": new Monaco coach, the Spaniard Robert Moreno put his compatriot Cesc Fabregas at the center of the game before challenging Strasbourg on Saturday in the Ligue 1 (8:00 p.m.).

Catalan like him, Moreno has known Fabregas for a long time. He knows almost everything about his midfielder, and therefore how to use the former Arsenal, Barça and Chelsea player (32), little used in recent months by his predecessor Leonardo Jardim.

"Fabregas has never been a player who chained races, explains Moreno. His quality is to understand the game," he said.

"He was world champion and European champion by playing like this," continues the new Monegasque coach. "Then it's a question of continuity: keep training and having the capacity to do your job all the time."

In this area, the past year has not been a good one for Fabregas. But if Moreno says he has noted an evolution, he does not intend to change it.

"His knowledge of football is great, so is his maturity," he says. "But his base is still the same."

- "He can do anything" -

Trained in La Masia, the famous Barcelona training center, Fabregas was aligned as "false N.9" of the Spanish selection European champion in 2012.

"He can do anything, provided you have a style of play like ours, that is to say having the ball, continues Moreno. I was asked the same thing about Sergio Busquets in selection. can't expect it to be the best if you play in transition. "

Moreno wants to offer the best conditions to its players. "You have to give the player a good context for his qualities to be expressed, he says. Before talking about the quality of the players, there are contexts that make them more or less good."

For him, Fabregas is currently better in support of Wissam Ben Yedder. "I prefer Bakayoko and Adrien Silva to the position of defensive midfielder," he said.

Holder against Reims, and twice against PSG, the Catalan has become the Moreno version of Monaco. It is also a relay of the speech of the young coach.

- A relay for Moreno -

"I have talked a lot with the players of the selection," said Fabregas earlier this month. "They liked his methodology. Robert talks a lot individually and collectively and gets his message across well," he said, seduced by the dictates of the former assistant to Luis Enrique at Barça (2014-2017).

"He comes from the Barcelona school, with a philosophy similar to that of (Pep) Guardiola and Tito Villanova. He explains very well why we do things. I know and understand this methodology. It's good for me. But honestly, he told me he wouldn't guarantee me playing. "

In the locker room, the weight of experienced Fabregas, who did not hesitate to say that the change of coach would "do a lot of good" in Monaco, is now even stronger.

Just listen to Gelson Martins talk about him. "It is important to learn from him (Fabregas, Editor's note), the Portuguese said. He often advises me on how to ask for the ball to serve me in a one-on-one position, and that I will cause the opposing defense. "

All that remains to be put into practice at the Strasbourg reception on Saturday for the 21st day. Because to aim for the podium, Fabregas and Monaco (9th to seven points from third place) no longer have the right to make mistakes ...

© 2020 AFP