How a Welshman and Arsenal hero sealed an unlikely Serie A promotion on Hollywood icon George Clooney’s doorstep

Como, playground of the rich and famous, is no stranger to parties.

Yet it has rarely seen festivities to match those that took place in its streets on Friday night, as fans of the local soccer team celebrated a fairytale promotion to Italy’s Serie A.

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It’s an extraordinary resurrection for a club that went bankrupt and, as recently as 2019, was playing in the fourth division.

Now, for the first time in a generation, he is relishing the prospect of Inter, Milan and Juventus arriving on the shores of Lake Como.

“It’s going to be a big challenge, but one we’ll be ready for,” said an elated interim head coach Osian Roberts. “We’re not going to just make up numbers. We’re going to embrace it.”

It’s a part of the world far more famous for its Hollywood film sets, stunning architecture and being home to George Clooney’s home.

There can’t be many other pieces of land occupying a world-renowned beauty spot and flanked by a yacht club and seaplane flying school.

It may not be a football hotbed. But the thousands of people cramming into their small stadium would have you believe otherwise. On Friday, the atmosphere was shaken when the locals took their team across the finish line.

At the heart of this season’s improbable success are a Catalan and a Welshman.

Arsenal legend Cesc Fabregas won virtually everything there was to win in the match. Co-owner of the club since 2022, he left his role as reserve team coach when the club sacked Moreno Longo.

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Twelve months ago, Osian Roberts was unemployed, a victim of the end of Patrick Vieira’s reign at Crystal Palace.

As Fabregas is yet to obtain his UEFA professional license, the former Wales assistant coach was the man Como turned to to become interim head coach with Fabregas as number two.

Under these two men, Como propelled themselves into the promotion race in the second half of the season with eight wins from ten matches.

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The race for automatic promotion was played between two teams from two of the country’s biggest tourist sites. While a victory on the final day would guarantee Como promotion, rivals Venezia, two points behind, were hoping to take the lead in the event of failure.

“Over the last two and a half months, we’ve had an incredible run where we continued to find ways to win games and improve our performances,” Roberts said. “All credit goes to the players for their fantastic professionalism, commitment and character.”

Former CEO Dennis Wise and World Cup winner Gianluca Zambrotta, a former Como player, were among 7,500 sell-out crowds on Friday night for the visit to Cosenza. Wise even invited Jamie and Rebekah Vardy.

Thierry Henry, like Fabregas a minority shareholder in the club, had a documentary crew following him around as the club prepared for what he hoped would be a promotional evening.

By halftime, however, Roberts and Fabregas were putting up frustrated numbers as they marched down the tunnel. The first 45 minutes did not go as planned.

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They trailed by a goal from Cosenza’s Gennaro Tuttino, while news had filtered in that Venezia were leading 1-0 against relegation-threatened Spezia. As things stand, Como would end up outside the automatic promotion places.

When they wasted numerous good chances early in the second half, the feeling grew that this might not be Como’s night.

Everything changed in the space of five minutes. Spezia scoring not once but twice against Venice put Como back in the seat. Suddenly, all the tension – on and off the pitch – evaporated.

The biggest roar of the evening was reserved for Simone Verdi’s equalizer from the penalty spot fifteen minutes from time. It made no difference to the outcome. But that was the signal for the party to begin.

“I feel the emotion of a job well done, which we had in mind from the start,” Fabregas said. “We fought against all the favorites. We didn’t expect to win automatic promotion, but we did it because we believed in it until the end.

“We fought hard and we had a strong mentality. The difference was in our heads, we were stronger than anyone.”

“Lotta per il sogno,” meaning “fight for the dream,” has been Como’s motto all season. The dream is now real.