Italy's Lake Como is a top European holiday hotspot. The new team in charge of the local football club, Como 1907, hope to make the city a popular football destination too.
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00:00Como 1907 are back in Italy's top division, with a crop of A-list players and investors with an impressive transformation plan for the club and the city.
00:11Let's take a look at the unique strategy of one of Europe's richest clubs.
00:20Hello and welcome to Football Now, here from the Albate Stadium in Qatar.
00:26Lake Como in Italy is already known as one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations, with tourists and celebrities alike.
00:34But now it's well on its way to becoming a new hotspot for elite football as well.
00:38Como 1907 were relatively unknown, but their fortunes changed back in 2019 when new owners injected fresh funds into the team.
00:48The club were taken over by the Indonesian conglomerate, the Jaren Group, spearheaded by Michael and Robert Hartono, with a net worth of over US$22 billion.
01:00This project that is coming from the new ownership is, I'd say, one of the most interesting in the world of football.
01:09They are family tycoons in global media. They opened a football platform that is owning some TV rights, for example.
01:18They are opening a website to promote Italian football, obviously also to promote Como, but also to tell about Italian football, the storytelling about Serie A that they are trying to impact.
01:30And this is, in my opinion, the most interesting thing.
01:34For the Jaren Group, Como 1907 is a lucrative business opportunity. So, what has the journey been like so far?
01:42And what steps are they taking in their vision to ensure the quality of the football team matches the beauty of its surroundings?
01:50I think the last five years has been a journey of progress as well as a journey of learning.
01:55We came here with no expectations of how the journey will be.
02:00We were a Serie B team, a second division team that moved up to Serie A.
02:04Although we tried to change as few players as possible, the requirement of what we want to do does not allow that.
02:11After 21 long years out of the top division, Como were promoted to Serie A back in 2024.
02:18The club splashed the cash in the transfer window to bring several household names into the team, including experienced Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina,
02:27who told us that the manager, Cesc Fabregas, was pivotal to him choosing the Como project.
02:33And he believes Cesc has the potential to go on to be one of the best coaches in the world.
02:39Well, first of all, to know Cesc and to know he was involved in a winning project,
02:45in a project that was always going to be better and better with the time.
02:51Having your own experience during your career is up there with one of the best ever.
02:57And probably it's been important to have that background before becoming a manager.
03:04Also to be surrounded with very available people in the staff.
03:08I think they're giving a big hand.
03:11But also the knowledge of the game, the knowledge tactically, psychologically, even to speak with the media.
03:19Everything is important to become a great manager and he's got every single tool to become one of the great.
03:27Astonishingly, Fabregas hadn't even completed his coaching badges when he first arrived at Como,
03:32but is now regarded as one of the most exciting young managers in the game.
03:37So how important is he to this project and how are the owners giving him the tools to help him build success?
03:44Cesc is one of us. He is a visionary.
03:47He sees the future, not just how the club should be, but also how the club should play.
03:52We are playing football in one of the most beautiful locations in the world.
03:56We have over 4.8 million tourists every year coming to Como.
03:59We have to serve them with entertaining and exciting football.
04:03In order to do that, the coach requires players that can deliver his vision.
04:07We have a coach with, I think, one of the most visionary ideas in football.
04:12We'd like him to be able to put the best show that he has in his head on the field as well.
04:17For that, we need to find the right mix of experience, dynamism, intelligence and youth on the field.
04:24Players who are not afraid to express themselves.
04:26Como are currently battling the threat of relegation in their first season back in Serie A,
04:32but what could the future hold?
04:34If they can begin to compete with the likes of Napoli, Juventus and Inter Milan,
04:39could they become an upcoming superpower in Italian football?
04:43I think they are looking at a project that is very similar to what Atalanta is.
04:49Putting resources, but reasonably, so not splashing useless money.
04:55Obviously, now it's like a start-up.
04:57When it's a start-up, every start-up needs to have input of money at the beginning.
05:03I don't think they have said themselves, we want to be in five years in European competitions.
05:08But I think they are aiming at that.
05:10But also, there is not a wide space in which you can enter at the top level in Italian football.
05:17Inter, Milan, Juventus and Napoli are always there on top.
05:22I'd say also Roma and Lazio.
05:24So see, it's becoming very tight. It's hard to find your spot.
05:27But I think they want to belong to that left side of the table.
05:30But a gradual growth that has to go with anything that is revolving around football.
05:36An interesting story of rags to riches then, as Como 1907 continue their rise up the ranks in Italian football.
05:45Let us know how powerful you think they could become using the hashtag footballnowcomo.
05:51That's all we've got time for though here from the Albaic Stadium in Qatar.
05:55We'll see you next time. Bye for now.
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