MILAN — Como’s remarkable rise reached its stunning conclusion Sunday as Cesc Fàbregas’ side secured a Champions League place alongside Roma on the final day of the Serie A season, while AC Milan and Juventus were left contemplating what went wrong.
The club based on the shores of Lake Como has never appeared in any continental competition across its 119-year history. Seven years ago, it was playing in Italy’s fourth division.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
The final twist
Milan and Roma occupied third and fourth places heading into the final round, level on points and two clear of Como and Juventus. All four were still in contention for the last two Champions League berths.
Roma won 2-0 at already-relegated Hellas Verona. Milan lost 2-1 at home to Cagliari. And Como won 4-1 at Cremonese.
The mathematics were cold and simple: the Rossoneri finished one point behind Como, with Juventus a further point back. Roma ended third, two points ahead of Como in fourth.
From a bar to European elite
"When I arrived four years ago as a player we changed in a bar, today we’re in the Champions League," Fabregas said in a press conference interrupted by his celebrating players, who wheeled in a speaker playing the Champions League anthem and doused their coach in water.
"We had massages in the back room of a bar, in a field … 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. I think that’s marvelous."
Club transformed
Indonesian tobacco billionaire brothers Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono purchased Como in 2019, when the club sat in Serie D. Their investment has now delivered a spot in Europe’s elite club competition.
The Champions League could prove enough to keep Fabregas at the club, with larger sides across reportedly monitoring the 39-year-old coach following his impressive early success in senior management.
Elsewhere in Serie A
Antonio Conte’s final match in charge of Napoli was a 1-0 win over Udinese, securing second place behind Inter Milan. Conte confirmed after the final whistle he was leaving Napoli.
Lecce beat Genoa 1-0 to secure Serie A survival, moving four points above 18th-place Cremonese. Cremonese will join Verona and Pisa in the second division next season.
Juventus let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Torino in a match that kicked off an hour late because of fan trouble.