EA SPORTS exclusive interview with Cesc Fàbregas
EA SPORTS™ caught up with Chelsea and Spain Midfielder Cesc Fàbregas ahead of the release of the EA SPORTS FIFA 16 Ultimate Team™ - Team of the Season.
EA SPORTS™: Cesc, you’re up against Man City this weekend, how will you cope with the threat of Sergio Agüero?
CF : We’ll have to be smart. He’s a very good player, he’s been showing it for a few years now in the Premier League and even before that in Spain and with the national team so we know what he can do. He’s very fast, he loves to take on players, he’s a natural goalscorer and both the defenders and midfielders will have to be very compact to prevent their midfielders from getting the ball to Sergio. We’ll try to control the game as well, to have possession and see if they can have less of the ball and less chances.
EA SPORTS™: Someone you may come up against in midfield now he’s back from injury is Kevin De Bruyne – have you been impressed with him this season?
CF : Yes, mostly because I hardly knew about him before this season. I didn’t really watch the German league in the few years he was there so yes he’s impressed me because I didn’t know that he had that much quality. I think he fits in very well with Manchester City’s footballing style.
EA SPORTS™: As for Chelsea, it’s obviously been a very tough season. How do you ensure that you’re challenging for the title next season?
CF : By doing much better than what we have done, for sure! There are many reasons that we can find but it’s obviously a new coach, a new philosophy, a new everything really, so we’ll have to see how the team adapts. We will have to work hard and understand quickly what the manager wants from us and from there take off and see if we can win the league again.
EA SPORTS™: You talked about the new manager there - when you heard about Antonio Conte’s appointment, what was it that you were most looking forward to?
CF : It’s difficult to say. You just want to do well always for the club but of course you have to try and impress the new manager in training, in pre-season, do what he asks you to do and always try to perform at the highest level. Obviously I don’t know what he’ll ask from the players tactically, but we’ll have to adapt very quickly.
Cesc Fàbregas exclusive interview with EA SPORTS™ part II
EA SPORTS™: Tottenham have had a very good year so far. What do you think has been the key behind their performances?
CF : Well I like the football they play. I think they have a young team and are very energetic. They can have possession, they can play on the counter attack but they like to take risks, I’ve been very impressed by them. The manager likes to have very aggressive players in terms of when they don’t have the ball and this helps them when they have to defend and press high against the opposition. We tested them last year in the Capital One Cup final and it was tough for us. We went to White Hart Lane and we lost 5-3 in a very good game, so there is always good games against them.
EA SPORTS™: Two of their outstanding players have been Harry Kane and Dele Alli, both English. Do you think they could be England’s great hopes this summer?
CF : We’ll see what happens but they’re definitely good players. They are young, they are fresh so let’s see how they cope in a tournament like this, but they will definitely have a chance.
EA SPORTS™: You’ve played with some great players: Henry, Messi and so forth. What would be your dream 5-aside team from players that you’ve played with in your career, without picking yourself?
CF : In goal, Iker Casillas. In defence I’ll put Gerard Pique. In midfield I’ll choose an attacking midfielder because I like offensive football, so David Silva. And up front Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi.
EA SPORTS™: Final question, how do you think Spain will get on this summer? Are you confident you can win it for a third successive time?
CF : I am confident yes. We have a different team, a younger team than what we’ve had in the past as some players have retired. It’s a big task to do it for the third time in a row, it’s very difficult to think that this can happen but we have a chance to make history once again. Of course we have a very good team and we will try our best to make it happen but we’ll have to work very hard for it.
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