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4 months ago
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After AC Milan, Atalanta, AC Monza and Inter Milan, Lombardy will have a fifth representative in Serie A next season with the Como club. Indeed, Como Calcio validated its rise in the Italian elite last week by snatching a draw against Cosenza (1-1), during the 38th and final day of Serie B. The Lariani will therefore not need to go through the Playoffs box to pocket the precious sesame. But the Comasque management has no time to lose and is already drawing up the main outlines of the summer objectives in order to hope to achieve a great epic over the next twelve months and thus remain in the first division, as the rival of Monza has was able to do it last year. Especially since Como’s sports project is taking shape more and more, including one of the best training centers in Serie B and an atypical stadium with historic architecture which has undergone numerous recent renovations and which should still be in the heart of a standoff between the club and the city to modernize the enclosure. Beautiful jerseys, a former great player from the 2010s as a young coach, a magnificent city under the Lombard sun, a stadium perched on the region’s legendary lake… All the ingredients come together to make all of Italy dream and these are not only the beginnings of the project.
Indeed, the summer of 2023 was notable in Como and we are not talking here about the beauty of the landscapes which attract millions of tourists each year. The city’s football club had given a big boost to its sporting project, even attracting the international spotlight after making big moves in the summer transfer window. In this regard, we can cite the arrival in particular of Cesc Fàbregas as a player (now converted into an assistant coach after a few temporary stints and on the Primavera bench) and that of Thierry Henry as a minority shareholder. . The Indonesian group Djarum, owner of the club, continues to pull out all the stops. President Dennis Wise also promised a new historical page for the Lariani. While waiting for the former Spanish Arsenal and FC Barcelona midfielder to obtain his diplomas, Welsh tactician Osian Roberts is acting as interim head coach. But in fact, Cesc Fàbregas is the man behind the Comasque success, the one who directs the training, makes the starting lineups and draws up the game plan. While the Como club was scrutinizing the last places and even playing to maintain in Serie B before making a nice comeback. With a flamboyant season and a rise in Serie A officially achieved, the time has come for big decisions for the sports management which is targeting XXL golden recruits for the next summer transfer window. A list of first targets has been revealed and one thing is certain: it has something to make fans and all Calcio lovers salivate.
Four big names in the sights!
According to local newspaper information The Provinceconfirmed by the Gazzetta dello Sport, the Como club, newly promoted to Serie A, has already sparked several transfer rumors with many important names. From the German goalkeeper Loris Karius of Newcastle to the Croatian midfielder Luka Modric of Real Madrid via the Argentine attackers Mauro Icardi of Galatasaray and Joaquin Correa of Inter, returning from a failed loan to OM, the sports management hopes to accept all the requests from Cesc Fàbregas in order to give a real boost to the sporting project. The Como club describes all these indiscretions as “market suggestions”, which must be understood as profiles to be listed, avenues to explore in the coming weeks. A major summit is planned for next week in London to define the different budgets and strategies for the upcoming summer market. The highest player salaries are expected to be between 2 and 3 million euros net per year, including bonuses. The only exception would concern the future new center forward who could be offered the biggest contract in the squad. For the rest, Como is looking for reinforcements for each position, players with Italian experience or those who already know Serie A. In this sense, coach Cesc Fabregas would have contacted one of his former teammates at FC Barcelona, Pedro whose contract with Lazio runs until June 2025. The rumor of Jamie Vardy, present in the stands for the last match, has been denied for the moment. Very beautiful people to add to the executives already present such as Patrick Cutrone, Simone Verdi, Lucas Da Cunha and Daniele Baselli.
In 2019, only two years after its demotion to Serie D due to bankruptcy, the recently refounded Como club was bought by the Indonesian company Djarum Group led by brothers Michael Hartono and Robert Budi Hartono: “I can say that when we came here, five years ago now, the city was a lot less blue than it is today. That’s why it’s very nice to see people going to the stadium with the Como jersey or to see references to the team around the city. We are happy about it… I am a businessman and I value the performance of the company more than things on the ground”, explained Mirwan Suwarso, the Indonesian general manager responsible for managing the Como Football Project. According to the latest Forbes ranking, Como is officially – and by far – the Italian club with the richest owners thanks to Robert Budi Hartono (83 years old) whose personal wealth stands at 24.5 billion euros and Michael Bambang Hartono (84 years old), with a net worth of 23.4 billion euros. With an estimated value of 47.9 billion euros, Como can dream very big over the coming years, especially since the Hartono siblings are not skimping on investments and intend to continue the development of the team based in Lombardy. Far-sighted investors in Central Asia Bank, still among Indonesia’s largest producers of clove-flavored cigarettes, the Hartono brothers are also the main shareholders of Global Digital Niaga, owner of e-commerce giant Bligli. In any case, Fàbregas’ ship seems in good hands and continues its adventure on the Lombard lakes.
