This past summer, Cesc Fabregas' future with Barcelona seemed uncertain as he was rumored to be traded to Manchester United. Many wondered whether Fabregas would be able to continue dealing with his position as a second fiddle in Barcelona's midfield despite his upside. However, that is no longer an issue for the Spaniard and he is happy to credit coach Gerardo Martino with his resurgence for his club.
"In Tata Martino I've found a coach who is perhaps a little different from Tito and Pep and who loves to play a slightly different kind of football," Fabregas said, according to ESPN. "He likes my style of play and that helps me a lot, gives me confidence. Because it's a long time since I've started as many games, and also played for 90 minutes, as I've done in the last three months, I feel important to the team."
In 2012-13 Fabregas finished with 11 goals and 11 assists in 32 Spanish League matches. He started 30 of them, but was often used as a false nine and was rarely placed in his natural position as an attacking midfielder. He has 16 starts in 2013-14 and has played a total of 18 games for Barcelona this year, but his stats are already looking far better than they did a year ago. He has seven goals and 10 assists; over the full season he is on pace for 14 goals and a whopping 21 assists. He has not reached those numbers since leaving Arsenal; he scored 15 goals in 2009-10 and put up 20 assists in 2007-08.
This bodes well for Barcelona as it looks to the future as current midfield duo of Andres Iniesta and Xavi grow older and slowly become less effective. At age 26, Fabregas' best years are still ahead of him and the club is hoping that he turns into its midfield maestro; he is already well on his way under Martino.