The double jump from Serie D to Serie B, with the playoffs now just a few points away should have been a survival season. Como's history is one of those football stories that you don't want to miss.
SENT acquired Como in April 2019 and their entering of the Italian football ecosystem has been respectful, elegant, moderate and at the same time successful, as the promotions show. No philosophical "revolution", no massive investment with which one would have run the risk of undermining the identity of a club which, despite not being a winner and not being a "giant" in the history of Italian football, has a great tradition.
"You can see also that ever since we acquired the club we do not go over forward in buying players, we try to develop in a consistent manner, trying to build a strong foundation, we just bought our own training centre so then we can have something," Mirwan Suwarso, official representative of Mola Tv, owner of Como, told TribalFootball.com.
"So what's the motivation? We just believe in a sustainable football business and in order to do that it was a perfect time to do it from the ground, because if you buy a big club like Roma or Inter or Juventus you suddenly become a giant, but you don't understand business.
"We admit we don't understand (this) business, so when we started we did from the bottom, so that we can learn together, with the fans, we learn with the team and the motivation was to eventually create a club that is sustainable both on and off the field."
A cradle of great footballers, Como is a team that has always been recognisable over the years. Many Italian footballers of the past, even top-tier players, have passed through Como: Stefano Borgonovo, Zambrotta, Tardelli, Vierchowod, Serena, Taibi, Carbone and many other great players.
The project was born as a business opportunity, reasonably, but with time things are changing and the group's approach with the Como reality is one of the most serious ones, destined to leave an imprint over the years. The choice of Dennis Wise, former Chelsea legend, is an example. To each their own, every single manager or individual within the club must do what they know best and this is how a project is built, starting from the foundations (basically the new ownership has found nothing, having bought a Series D club), brick after brick.
Technical continuity is one of those things that is often taken for granted, but which actually demonstrates the seriousness of a project. Giacomo Gattuso has been the technical guide of the club since December 2020. A former footballer of the club, who has collected with the Como shirt many appearances, about 200, numbers that make him an icon of the club, especially since most of those appearances were collected in Serie C.
On Gattuso, Suwarso said: "I think he's been very important to us. I mean, he understands the city, he played for the team, he understands the players and he has the trust of Charlie Ludi, our sports director.
"I cannot comment too much about how he's doing or stuff like that, because I think that's a sport division territory, but from a community side he has brought tremendous change when he came on, he has the fans really supportive with him, the city really seems to be really supportive of him, so we're happy about that obviously and we cannot complain where we are in the table, if you look at the salaries position compared to everybody else, maybe we should be way lower than where we are today. I think he's done well and that's the target. Our first target in Serie B was to survive and I hope we can do that."
That spirit of belonging is the feeling that pervades Como today, from the fan-team relationship to the relationship that the ownership is trying to build, as Suwarso describes as a "triangle". The sensitivity of understanding the importance of the project to have a modern stadium, in step with the times, as demonstrated by the Sinigaglia Stadium, modernised and significantly improved in 2021 by the current ownership, also thanks to the help of the fans, who participated actively painting parts of the stadium, a further sign of unity between the supporters and the team of the city. A "modern" stadium, a sports centre where the players can train, slowly but surely building a top-level club, almost from scratch after the default. We can say "almost", however, because the love of the fans and their relationship with the team were never lacking.
The history of football is not only marked by the titles won by the clubs, but also by the ability to face and overcome all the difficulties, economical, technical and financial, and to make the fans proud once again, which are the true heart of the club. And Como has never forgotten who they are, how the club was born, where they come from and who their fans are. The history of the club is rich in tradition and fascinating stories and for its 113th year (in 2020) was created the website museodelcomo.it, where it is possible to retrace all the stages in the history of this club, by reviewing faces of players, coaches, presidents, all the shirts and where there is also a page entirely dedicated to the Como fans.
Como was founded in 1907 and since then it has had to face several failures, such as the one in 2016, after which following years of pain came the rebuilding of the club and the "new" name, Como Calcio 1907, after having restarted from Serie D and having been rebuilt on the strength from the fan base's love. Recent history is known to everyone, especially because there are not many teams that have managed to make the double jump from Serie D to Serie B, where the team is displaying heart and is fighting valiantly. The current club is essentially in the hands of Dennis Wise and Carlalberto Ludi, the club's sporting director. The ownership wants to build starting from the Academy going up (something they are already doing), through which a further affirmation of the identity of the club could pass, which in its history has seen many young level players graduate through their ranks, youngsters that with jersey or after having worn it have become major players in the history of Italian football.
Experiencing a failure can be seen both as the end of a journey and as the first stage of a new beginning and it is precisely the vision of SENT. At the base of the project, as mentioned above, a triangle between business, people and community. This idea is the most important thing for the ownership, it comes before the transfer market and the moves that will be necessary to strengthen the team in the future. The squad, during this season was hit beyond measure by injuries and external contingencies. Step by step, the idea is to bring Como back to where the team deserves to be, in Serie A, together with the fans and also thanks to their help, because "they grew up with the team, most of them came to the stadium the first time when they were children, brought there by their fathers", as Suwarso told to TribalFootball.
The new ownership is aware of the importance of the past, especially when it is so full of events, and how strong it is connected to Como Calcio 1907's future.
