I lived with Cesc Fabregas at Arsenal and saw him become a leader and then I signed one of my teammates after a career change.
Philippe Senderos has loved seeing his former housemate, Cesc Fábregas, embrace life as a coach.
the first Arsenal His teammates moved into accommodation together in north London as teenagers in 2003. Senderos joined the club from Servette when he was 18 and Fábregas joined from Barcelona at the age of 16.
Now, 21 years later, the pair are still in touch from their days at Colney and in the Arsenal first team under Arsene Wenger.
Speaking about his friend, Senderos told talkSPORT.com: “When we arrived (in London), he was living in accommodation. I was a little older, two years older than Cesc, but he didn't speak a word of English. So they transferred him with me because he spoke Spanish.
“I needed to be with someone, I never lived alone. I didn't want to live alone so we moved into accommodation for the first year, it was great.
“We were at home together, we went to London on our days off. We built a very strong bond and are still friends today.”
After retiring at Italian club Como in July 2023, Fábregas became interim coach a few months later in November, and following the arrival of interim Osian Roberts, he helped them gain promotion to Serie A as an assistant.
He was named permanent boss of the club in July after obtaining his professional licence.
“I went (to see him) a couple of times when I was a Como player,” Senderos recalled. “Now, since he has been a coach, only this year has he been in Serie A. I have not been, but we have been in contact.
Asked if he had any idea that Fabregas would have become a manager during his games with Arsenal, he smiled: “None at that time. I think when we were young I saw him develop as a player and also as a leader.
“He arrived when he was 16, so you can see the leadership in him, in the way he played. But I saw him develop as a more vocal and real leader in the locker room.
“When I left Arsenal he became captain (in 2008). You can see the development in his career. The fact that he had been trained by senior managers, whether in Spain or in his career, gave him a lot of experience. This allows him today to have not only the experience of his career as a player, but also that of the other side.
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“It has developed fantastically. Now when I see the team talks where they show some images of him in Como, I am very impressed. Being able to do it in English was incredible.
“Now that he does it in Italian, it's amazing. I'm very, very happy for him.”
Fábregas and Senderos won the FA Cup together in 2005, beating manchester united 5-4 on penalties in the final.
The Spaniard won two Premier League titles, the League Cup, the FA Cup and the Europa League with Chelsea to which he arrived from Barcelona in 2014, in addition to the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 Euro Cups with his country.
Senderos, for his part, retired in 2019 and is now working for FIFA under former Arsenal boss Wenger.
Fabregas was not the only Arsenal teammate he has kept in touch with since hanging up his boots, and he even signed one of them to his former club after a career change took him to the boardroom.
When asked if any other players had a big impact on him when he was at Arsenal, he said: “Yes, Gael Clichy. We arrived in London the same day. We had the same taxi driver pick us up at the airport and take us home to the hotel.
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“At first we did the preseason, our first preseason in 2003, we were together in the rooms.
“A few months before, we played in the final of the (2002 European Under-17 Championship), so we already knew each other. And then, when I became sporting director of Servette, I signed him as a player.”
Senderos became sporting director of his boyhood club in 2020 and spent three years there before leaving his position at FIFA, where he currently works.
“We are still in touch now. We are both retired. “He coaches the France under-21 team as an assistant, I'm at FIFA so we're still in touch.”
Senderos, who was part of Arsenal's 2006 Champions League final, was loaned out to AC Milan and Everton during the latter stages of his time at Arsenal.
He left for Fulham on a free transfer in 2010. Spells with Valencia, Aston Villa, Grasshoppers, Rangers, Houston Dynamo and Swiss second division side Chiasso followed.
His role now is that of a high performance specialist, helping associations implement a long-term strategy on talent development where they will no doubt hope to uncover the type of talent Wenger had the privilege of coaching.
