MILAN (AP) — Cesc Fàbregas' Como has completed a remarkable rise to reach the Champions League, finishing fourth in Serie A on the final day while AC Milan and Juventus both missed out.
Historic qualification sealed
Como, which has never participated in any continental competition in its 119-year history, was playing in the fourth division of Italian soccer just seven years ago. The club secured fourth place with a 4-1 victory at Cremonese on the final day.
"When I arrived four years ago as a player we changed in a bar, today we're in the Champions League," Fabregas said. "We trained without a sports center, in a place I don't remember where it was. We had massages in the back room of a bar… And today, less than four years later, we're going to play in the Champions League.
"It's a huge achievement, this is a squad full of kids, the 15 players who played the most are nearly all under 23."
Fabregas' post-match press conference was interrupted by his overjoyed players, who threw water over their coach as they sang the Champions League anthem.
Champions League race results
Four teams were vying for the final two Champions League berths in the final round. Roma finished third after winning 2-0 at already-relegated Hellas Verona, while Milan lost 2-1 at home to Cagliari.
The Rossoneri finished one point below Como, with Juventus a point further back after drawing 2-2 at Torino after letting slip a two-goal lead.
Milan was loudly booed at the end of its match.
Other Serie A results
Napoli finished second after Antonio Conte's last match in charge was a 1-0 win over Udinese. Conte confirmed after the final whistle that he was leaving.
Lecce beat Genoa 1-0 to secure Serie A safety, moving four points above 18th-place Cremonese, which will join Verona and Pisa in the second division next season.
Club background
Como, based on the shores of the eponymous lake in northern Italy, has made rapid progress since Indonesian tobacco billionaire brothers Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono purchased the club in 2019, when it was in Serie D.
The Champions League could prove to be enough to keep Fabregas at Como, with bigger clubs across Europe reportedly interested in the 39-year-old coach following his impressive early success in a senior managerial position.