It’s was an historic day around Europe as Como were able to win 4-1 against RB Leipzig in their first-ever Champions League game played at the Stadio Sinigaglia, thanks to the goals scored by Martin Baturina, Assane Diao, Anastasios Douvikas and Maximo Perrone. It’s a monumental win, although the result itself shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Italian soccer in recent years. 

The team led by Cesc Fabregas are widely regarded as one of the best in Serie A, both for the way they play and for how well they have managed to develop the project. Como president Mirwan Suwarso is the point of reference of the club, able to create a project that, in less than five years, not only clinched promotion to the Italian Serie A but also qualified for the most important competition in the world. Fabregas, the coach, is the perfect figure for this team who embody the ideas of the club on the pitch: a young roster, with talented players. It’s not a coincidence that Nico Paz decided to stay at Como this summer despite Real Madrid were still controlling him. This is also why Como is a special club. 

The night in Como was special but even after the electric day, the feeling is that this is just the beginning for Como and their soccer project in the coming years. They have the ownership capable of thinking about a long-term plan, a talented roster with players like Nico Paz, Martin Baturina or Moise Kean just to name some and the fans that can’t believe what they are witnessing every week. 

How Como became a Champions League team: Unique model, ownership power, Cesc Fabregas lead impressive rise

Francesco Porzio

This is the win of Fabregas as well, a coach who believes in this project, not just because he’s one of the minority shareholders alongside Thierry Henry but also because he turned around multiple clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen and Inter over the past years to live these kinds of nights. And he was right to make such decisions. Speaking to the media after the game in the press room, he said: “I’m happy, but my happiness will only last for five minutes because we have to prepare for Monday’s match against Parma. A historic night for the club and the city, but now we need humility, composure, and to keep pushing forward. It’s a result we deserve, but we have to proceed carefully, and hopefully we won’t forget about Serie A, because that would make me angry. We have to perform every three days.”

There is one image from the night that needs to be underlined. It’s about the president Mirwan Suwarso, who was in the media before the game as he announced that he and several directors were going to give up their tickets for the club’s Champions League debut to allow elderly supporters to attend. His place was taken by 95-year-old fan Ernesto Bianchi, who had the unprecedented and probably never-imagined chance to attend his first-ever Champions League game of his beloved Como. If that isn’t the beauty of this sport, then what is?