In seven years, they went from a bar back room to Europe's elite competition.
Cesc Fàbregas led Como into the Champions League on the final day of the Serie A season, completing one of the most improbable runs in modern European football. Roma joined them, while AC Milan and Juventus were left watching from outside the qualification places.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
The final-day shuffle
Roma claimed third place by winning 2-0 at already-relegated Hellas Verona. Como finished fourth, two points behind Roma, after beating Cremonese 4-1 away. The mathematics were simple: Milan, level on points with Roma before kickoff, lost at home to Cagliari. That defeat dropped them below Como on the head-to-head record. Juventus, a point further back, could only draw 2-2 at Torino after throwing away a two-goal lead.
The match at Torino began an hour late because of fan trouble.
Three clubs had entered the final round with realistic chances at the two remaining Champions League spots. Two left satisfied.
A club rewritten
Como, based on the shores of the eponymous lake in northern Italy, had never competed in any continental tournament in its 119-year existence. In 2019, Indonesian tobacco billionaires Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono purchased the club when it was lying in Serie D, the fourth tier of Italian soccer.
Fàbregas, hired as player-manager four years ago, described in a post-match news conference the scale of the transformation. His remarks were interrupted by celebrating players who wheeled a speaker into the room and played the Champions League anthem over water being thrown.
"The 15 players who played the most are nearly all under 23," Fabregas said. "That's a marvelous thing."
The 39-year-old coach, whose contract situation remains uncertain, has attracted interest from larger clubs across Europe. Whether the Champions League berth proves enough to keep him at Como will become clearer in coming weeks.
Relegation and the rest
Cremonese joined Verona and Pisa in Serie B. Lecce survived after beating Genoa 1-0, finishing four points above the drop zone.
Inter Milan were crowned champions earlier. Napoli, runners-up, played Antonio Conte's final match as coach—a 1-0 win over Udinese—and the manager confirmed afterward that he was leaving.