How Como 1907 are chasing Wrexham-esque Hollywood dreams with glamour and goals

Como were one of the surprises of the last Serie A season when they finished 10th, but this season things are much different. After spending over $100 million in the summer transfer window, bringing in players with experience and young talents that will play under Cesc Fabregas, Como have to be considered at least as a contender for one of the European spots for the new 2025-26 Serie A season that will kick off this weekend in Italy. 

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The Italian side, owned by one of the richest ownership in world soccer, have big ambitions for the future and started building the team with the idea of making it one of the most attractive around, not only for the players or managers to work there, but also for the fans and millions of tourists that every year go to Lake Como on vacation. While Wrexham's rise has been well documented, the argument can be made that Como, already in the first division, has even more potential and serious chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

It's not a coincidence that many Hollywood actors were spotted at the Sinigaglia Stadium last season -- Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Adrien Brody, Hugh Grant and Andrew Garfield, just to name some of them, were all attending Como games in the stadium that will be fully restructured starting from next year. Como are by far one of the most interesting soccer projects around Europe, and for these reasons, former players like Thierry Henry and the same coach Fabregas, who also retired at the club in 2023, decided to become shareholders of the Italian team. So the question now is -- why is this relatively small Italian club garnering so much attention, and what can we expect from them in the coming years?

The ownership

Como are dreaming big under one of the richest ownerships around Europe and made some crucial signings this window, such as Croatian midfielder Martin Baturina for around $18 million from Dinamo Zagreb, Nicolas Khun from Celtic for $19 million, left winger Jesus Rodriguez from Real Betis for $22 million and Spanish striker Alvaro Morata on loan from AC Milan, showing the ambition of the club after a successful first season in the first division under Fabregas. Como are owned by the Djarum Group, an Indonesian conglomerate led by brothers Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono, who bought the club back in 2019 with their London-based company, SENT Entertainment. The Hartono brothers have a combined net worth of approximately $48 billion, according to Forbes, and the club is run by Mirwan Suwarso, who represents the ownership at the club. 

The manager

The mastermind of the project is Fabregas. After playing at the highest levels of elite soccer with Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and AS Monaco, during the 2022-23 season, the World Cup-winning former Spain international moved to Italy and played for Como in his last season before retiring from professional soccer. After he retired, he became the manager of the under-23 team, a few months before taking the job of the first team. In his first season at Como as caretaker manager, he earned Serie A promotion, and in his first full season in charge, he ended up in 10th place in the standings with the newly promoted team, showing not only a great level of soccer but also developed some young players such as Nico Paz, one of the secrets of the success of the team last campaign.

Despite only coaching Como for less than two seasons, Fabregas immediately attracted interest from multiple clubs like German side Bayer Leverkusen that saw in Fabregas the perfect replacement of Xabi Alonso, who joined Real Madrid this summer, and Inter wanted him to start a new cycle after parting ways with Simone Inzaghi, but then appointed Cristian Chivu after Como denied the Italian club the possibility to start talks with the Spanish coach. 

His tactical ideas and leadership attracted interest of many clubs around Europe, but also his connection with the players showed how much he cares about this project and this team. In the summer of 2024, after securing promotion to Serie A, Fabregas fulfilled a promise by treating the entire squad to a celebratory trip to Ibiza, showing his affection for these players. It's clear that the future of this manager will soon be elsewhere, as many of the big European clubs have already their eyes on him, but it's not that time yet, as he wants to dream big first at Como. 

The ambition of the club 

Como are a long-term project, and it won't be the end of the world if they don't end up in European tournaments at the end of the 2025-26 season, but this is definitely something they can achieve, considering how well they have done last season and the players they managed to sign this summer. Como are working to build something bigger than just one single European qualification; they want to create a legacy like Atalanta, that have done over the last decade in Italy, and in this case, they can also count on their ownership and one of the most beautiful tourist spots of the country, Lake Como. A place where tourists, Hollywood actors, and soccer world stars can potentially meet and create one of the most exciting soccer atmospheres in world soccer.

The potential is there, the right people are there -- it's just a matter of time.