It's a special week in Italy as Como, one of the most interesting soccer projects around Europe, make their official debut in the UEFA Champions League league phase, hosting RB Leipzig at the Stadio Sinigaglia in Como. This is a different story: It's not like some random Italian team qualifying for the first time in Europe after a successful season. Como are building the foundations to remain a long-term presence on the European soccer stage, backed by solid ownership, a visionary project led by president Mirwan Suwarso, and a team shaped by former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who is widely considered one of the best emerging managers around Europe.
There is a much more recent example that explains well the nature of this project. Ahead of their opening Champions League match against RB Leipzig, the president of the club, Suwarso, announced he and several directors will give up their tickets for the club's Champions League debut to allow elderly supporters to attend: "With the reduced capacity and the limited number of tickets available, unfortunately we cannot accommodate everyone who would have liked to be there. However, some club executives and I have decided to give up our seats for this match.
We want those seats to be allocated to supporters who have waited the longest - fans born in 1950 or earlier, who have followed Como through every division and every era. We will be honored to give up our seat for them", he wrote in a statement. But, apart from this self-explanatory example, how is the Como project different from the others?
Como are owned by the Djarum Group, an Indonesian conglomerate founded by brothers Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono, who bought the club back in 2019 with their London-based company, SENT Entertainment. Michael Hartono passed away earlier this year and the brothers had 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. Since acquiring the club, Como were able to be promoted to the Italian Serie A in less than five years, before qualifying for the Champions League in their second year after being promoted.
A special milestone for a club that invested millions over the years to bring new players and start the project to renovate the Sinigaglia stadium ahead of their Champions League debut. To make it happen, Como have to deal with some issues like most of the Italian clubs but have a totally different approach compared to the usual ones, also called the 'Disney' model. Como is a unique corner of Italy, located less than an hour from Milan.
Over the years, Lake Como has become one of the country's most sought-after destinations, attracting tourists, celebrities and high-profile figures from around the world. George Clooney bought a home in the area years ago, while Jose Mourinho lived there during his time coaching Inter, with the club's training ground located just a short distance away. Since the beginning of Como's new ownership era, the club has also attracted a growing number of Hollywood stars to the Sinigaglia, with Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Adrien Brody, Hugh Grant and Andrew Garfield are among those who have attended matches; former soccer players and Formula 1 drivers were also spotted in the stands.
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