3 weeks ago
The serene sound of lapping h2o is surgery only by nan whir of a seaplane motor swooping to land. Outside nan hangar to which nan craft will soon return, a crowd has gathered good earlier kick-off. Later, astir will standard nan steep steps of nan adjacent Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.
To nan correct sits Villa Carminati, a caller backstage members’ nine that besides houses hospitality guests connected matchdays. It is simply a unsocial mounting for a unsocial shot club. When bathed successful sunshine, arsenic was nan lawsuit for past Sunday’s goalless tie pinch Napoli, Como 1907 is simply a waterside paradise. Or, arsenic their president Mirwan Suwarso puts it erstwhile drafting parallels betwixt nan nine and Disney, it is nan “theme park” section of nan “main marque … Lake Como”.
The segment now, though, is markedly different to erstwhile nan Indonesian Djarum Group bought nan nine successful 2019. Back then, aft a bid of bankruptcies, Como competed successful a 168-team, nine-group, Serie D. Amateur shot played successful beforehand of a fewer 100 loyal fans.
Now, having meandered done 119 years of existence, 12,000 sell-out crowds are watching caput coach Cesc Fàbregas’s broadside pushing for Champions League qualification successful only their 2nd twelvemonth backmost successful Serie A.
Such accelerated occurrence has nan footballing world rubber-necking. On nan field, Fàbregas is beforehand and centre. His look should not activity but someway does. With Italian shot dominated by 3-5-2, Fàbregas plays 4-2-3-1. Como person nan astir possession successful Serie A but besides deploy a high-intensity press. They person nan division’s meanest defence but are easy connected nan oculus and person scored much than anyone barroom Inter.
“Innovation is very important,” Fàbregas says soon aft his pre-Napoli property conference. “But much than invention is caller ideas. You person to comprehend your ain team, to spot wherever your squad is. We person a very young team, 1 of nan youngest teams successful Europe, truthful we person to beryllium very alert of that. Everyone has their ain timing of development.
“I push a lot. I effort to group nan standards rather precocious depending connected what they springiness maine and really unfastened they are to caller things and to turn and to get amended and to listen. We ever effort to bring players present that are humble enough, are quiet enough, to beryllium capable to perceive and to learn.”
The property convention itself, Fàbregas handled masterfully. He was engaged and, astatine times, said passionately. Attempts to tie a clickbait header were glided past successful nan aforesaid effortless measurement he picked passes successful his premier pinch Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Spain.
He is obsessive, regularly spending 16-hour days astatine Como’s Mozzate training ground. But he is relaxed and, contempt nan infancy of his coaching career, capable to laughter astatine his ain mistakes.
“I look astatine erstwhile we sewage promoted from Serie B to Serie A and I look astatine nan squad doing definite things that astatine nan clip were moving wonders for america and now I’m saying: ‘I would ne'er do this successful my life,’” he says grinning. “I do want to look backmost and retrieve that it’s been a agelong measurement and that we were humble capable and open-minded capable to beryllium ever perpetually increasing and getting better, you know?”
Fàbregas joined Como arsenic a subordinate successful August 2022, retiring nan pursuing summertime and instantly opening to coach nan primavera (under-19) team.
In November 2023 he became interim first-team manager. Fàbregas past assisted Osian Roberts who is now caput of improvement – while he completed his coaching badges. After nan brace secured promotion, Fàbregas was appointed imperishable manager. Como vanished 10th successful Serie A nan pursuing season.
To outsiders Como’s ascent has seemed seamless but it has required meticulous management. “You person to beryllium very observant astir group dynamics,” says Roberts, who arrived connected number shareholder Thierry Henry’s recommendation. “Keeping nan chemistry is not easy pinch specified a precocious turnover of players, which was a consequence but a basal one.”.
As counterbalance, Fàbregas brought successful players “some of whom he’d played with, that he knew would thief really negociate nan dressing room astatine important times”. Examples past play included nan now retired Pepe Reina and Raphaël Varane. The second remains progressive arsenic an invester – Fàbregas besides clasp shares – a nine ambassador and a director, providing strategical proposal and playing an progressive domiciled successful nan club’s younker focus.
Regular substitutes this year, including past Sunday, person been Álvaro Morata and Sergi Roberto, some Champions League winners. While each has passed their lofty peaks, they are invaluable, wrong nan playing group and among fans.
Take Morata, who earlier nan lucifer tried to high-five a mascot only for an charismatic to accidentally intervene. A 2nd later Morata doubled backmost to guarantee nan youngster did not time off disappointed. Small things create lasting memories.
Como’s header grabbers, though, person been nan young stars. Argentinian Nicolás Paz, 21, is simply a silky No 10 pinch 18 convention extremity involvements this season. He has besides won nan 3rd astir tackles successful nan league. Paz was signed for €6m successful 2024, pinch Real Madrid retaining a buy-back clause for nan adjacent 2 summers.
Como’s narration pinch Madrid is simply a beardown one, pinch €2.5m centre-back Jacobo Ramón, 21, this season’s standout arrival. Other young signings excelling see Lucas Da Cunha, Álex Valle, Assane Diao and ex-Manchester City man Máximo Perrone.
Fàbregas has nan last say, but leans heavy connected a recruitment squad headed by Barend Verkerk. As a child, nan Dutchman played Football Manager by exporting information into a spreadsheet and inputting his ain algorithms. Now he is “in complaint of putting nan names connected nan table”, pinch a information scout, six full-time scouts (including 1 each successful key-focus regions Scandinavia and Spain), 3 tactical analysts and 2 sports psychologists each reporting to him.
Roberts’s domiciled is now wider. He is location to build nan early foundations. “There are 2 things that person ever been adjacent to my heart,” Roberts says. “Developing players and processing staff. If we tin proceed to do that past they will thief nan nine to shape a beardown instauration that will beryllium present for galore years to come.”
The women’s squad person conscionable been promoted to Serie A for nan first time, while nan primavera are a final-day triumph from besides achieving that.
Sustainability will beryllium cardinal to Como’s semipermanent success. The astir caller accounts show a pre-tax nonaccomplishment of €105.1m, though Suwarso likens them to a “start-up” and is aspiring for profitability wrong 2 years. However, while nan stadium will person a facelift and a fewer 1000 caller seats successful 2027, it cannot dream to compete pinch neighbours Inter and Milan commercially. At least, not conventionally.
“We didn’t want to become, what was trending astatine nan time, a multi-club ownership model,” Suwarso says. “We wanted to go what we telephone nan multi-club servicing model. Everything we’ve learned successful Como tin beryllium offered arsenic a work to different sports organisations.”
Examples of specified learnings see package for information analytics, subordinate behaviour study software, and wellness tracking. “The shot squad is impervious of concept.”
Then location is nan tourer element. The club’s website offers a assortment of premium lake-side packages, while hospitality packages are sold retired good successful beforehand and pull celebrities. Visitors person included nan character Damian Lewis and UFC combatant Paddy Pimblett.
Fashion is vital, too, pinch designer Rhuigi Villaseñor appointed arsenic main marque officer. Adidas now make Como’s kit, while collaborators see Rhude – Villaseñor’s LA streetwear marque – and Italian suit makers Brioni. As portion of its multi-club servicing model, Rhude 4 Fans will supply capsule collections for clubs including Everton and Tottenham.
Within each of this, location has been a conscious effort not to alienate history. There is small crossover successful nan Venn sketch of Como citizens and those who inhabit nan glitzy hotels astir nan reservoir aliases tin spend €500 for a brace of designer shorts.
“Everything that we do, we effort to make judge that nan interests of nan halfway fans are protected,” Suwarso says, adding that season-ticket holders from nan club’s Serie C days still salary virtually nan aforesaid for entry.
“We are foreigners who came present to negociate an Italian shot team. The group of Como are very proud of their origin. They person their ain culture. When we first came, we instantly tried to study what is nan halfway of our fans. What do they want? What do they guidelines for? Who are they?
“As we developed our branding and connection strategy, which is fundamentally nan DNA of nan squad itself, we agreed that we person to go thing genuinely Como. That’s why we picked up nan motto ‘Semm Cumasch’ – ‘We are Como’.”
Truly Como is becoming genuinely special. The nine is conscionable taking off.
