Como: Europe’s Biggest Surprise Story | OneFootball

Seven years ago, Como were plying their trade in Serie D, the fourth tier of Italian football. The threat of bankruptcy was real due to financial issues. Dwindling attendances at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia meant the club was going nowhere fast.

But a lot can change in seven years, particularly in football. When Como was bought by the Djarum Group in 2019, that was the catalyst for the success achieved this season.

Remarkably, it only took Como five years to climb three divisions and secure promotion to Serie A in 2024. That ended a 21-year absence from the top flight.

Just two years later, the Italian side has qualified for Europe and looks set to match, or possibly improve on, their highest ever finish of sixth in Serie A.

How has Como managed this incredible turnaround? First things first, the owners have certainly played their part…

Como have been backed massively in the transfer market

Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono own the Djarum Group, which took over the club seven years ago. With an estimated net worth of approximately $50 billion, they are by far the wealthiest owners in Serie A.As such, while there have been other factors contributing to Como’s success story this season (more on those soon), this financial backing has been crucial.Last summer, Como spent €126.9m ($148m) on transfers. That outlay ranked them fifth, behind only Juventus, Napoli, Atalanta and AC Milan according to Transfermarkt.

Como even spent more than heavyweights Inter Milan, Roma and Lazio in signing players such as Jese Rodriguez, Nicolas Kuhn, Martin Baturina and Alex Valle.

Of course, having this large financial backing is no means a guarentee of success, but combined with the right strategy and a progressive manager, things might just click into place. Enter Cesc Fabregas.

Cesc Fabregas is now one of the most sought-after coaches in Europe

When you have played under managers such as Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho throughout your playing career, then you’re going to pick up plenty of managerial nuggets along the way.

The Spaniard worked his way up from the youth teams to assistant and then finally to head coach in the summer of 2024. Not much was expected of either Fabregas or Como last season, but a tenth-place finish saw them finish 15 points above the relegation zone.

Some managers would have been happy with that and expected something similar this season. Not Fabregas. The former Arsenal starlet is a born winner, and that message has clearly worked its way down to the players.

With just two games left of the season, Como are sixth, trailing Juventus in third by only three points. More importantly, however, is that European football has been secured for the first time in the club’s history.

Fabregas’ use of a 4-2-3-1 system throughout his spell in charge has worked wonders and helped Como defeat the likes of Juventus, Roma and Lazio this term.

His stock has never been higher, which, of course, will fuel talk of him leaving during the summer. It won’t just be rumors about him leaving, especially considering the form of one of Como’s brightest talents….

Nico Paz is shining brightest for Como

In a squad filled with names such as Alvaro Morata, Sergi Roberto, Diego Carlos and Nicolas Kuhn, it is Nico Paz who has excelled the most.

The Argentinian will likely move on to bigger and brighter things once this season is over, largely due to his role in helping the club into Europe.

Paz has registered 21 goal contributions this season (13 goals and eight assists) and the former Real Madrid prodigy looks set to play a role for Argentina at the upcoming World Cup.

The youngster ranks in the top 1% when compared to his peers for shots on target (48), successful passes (1,154), touches (2,123) and defensive contributions (135) in Serie A this season. Not bad at all. Add in goals against Lazio, AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan, the 21-year-old thrives in the biggest matches, no doubt about that.

His future is bright, but will he remain with Como to help steer them through Europe, whatever competition they end up qualifying for?

This summer will be the most important in Como’s recent history. Keeping Fabregas and Paz is a no-brainer if they hope for more improvement and potentially continental success.

Whatever happens, though, it has been a hell of a ride this term, that’s for sure.