‘Como! Thou, a treasure whom the Earth keeps to herself’ – English poet William Wordsworth fell in love with northern Italy’s sun-kissed lakes during a walking tour in 1790.
He wouldn’t be the last. In the centuries since, countless more have eloped to this city for sunshine and exquisite cuisine; romantic getaways and honeymoons.
It is, therefore, with some disappointment, that FourFourTwo splashes on to the tarmac at Milan airport to find the entire Lombardy region is in the eye of a biblical storm that will last the next four days. “It’s not normally like this,” laughs FFT’s chauffeur for the day, Davide, clutching an umbrella. “One or two days of rain, sure, but this is crazy.”
We’re thankful, at least, as we wind through the sodden farmland that separates Milan from Como, that we’re not here for romance, but a football match of potentially enorme importanza: Serie B’s showdown between fourth-placed Como 1907 and second-placed Venezia. Only two teams automatically go up to Italy’s top flight each season. Leaders Parma have a healthy advantage and so, with 11 matches remaining, victory for either side could prove crucial.
We pull up at Como’s training ground as the first team and primavera squads file out of freshly-painted changing rooms and onto pristine training pitches – diggers and heaps of soil providing a curious backdrop through the drizzle. FFT is welcomed into a newly-completed canteen and handed a teeny-tiny Italian coffee. With little over 48 hours to go until Venezia’s visit, there’s a buzz around the club, but that hasn’t always been the case.
As recently as 2017, Como were declared bankrupt after being relegated to Serie C, Italy’s third tier. That summer, they were bought out by Akosua Puni Essien – the wife of ex-Chelsea, Milan and Ghana midfielder Michael – yet further financial problems saw the Lariani banished to Serie D ahead of the 2017-18 campaign.
It was merely the latest in a lengthy series of bankruptcies, liquidations and financial misdemeanours that have plagued the club since relegation from Serie A in 2003; a sorry state of affairs for the former home of Paolo Rossi, Marco Tardelli and Gianluca Zambrotta. Fans of a certain vintage even recall Como’s participation in the golden age of Serie A in
