Promotion to Serie B and a new start with Sent Entertainment
Como played six First Division seasons from 2009 to 2015 under the presidency of Antonio Di Bari and Amilcare Rivetti, who left the presidency to Pietro Porro and his team in 2012. After three seasons under the guidance of Carlo Sabatini, Como won the playoffs after having finished fourth in the league where Simone Andrea Ganz shone by scoring 18 goals. The following Serie B season was disappointing in all respects with Como remaining last from the first to the last day, changing three coaches and using 41 players.
With relegation came bankruptcy for the Club, which in the 2016/17 season was guided to a brilliant seventh place by bankruptcy trustee Francesco De Michele and coach Fabio Gallo. At the bankruptcy auction, Como was taken over by Akosua Puni Essien, who changed the name of the club to FC Como.
FC Como’s non-inclusion in the leagues caused the Club to restart from Serie D in the 2017/18 season. On 4 April 2019, the Club was acquired by UK-based media and entertainment company SENT Entertainment Ltd. SENT has launched a strategic path aimed at developing a solid corporate structure and guaranteeing Como 1907 financial stability and investments: new sports infrastructure, focus on the Youth Academy, the stadium, and of course the First Team. These are the new club objectives. In the meantime, the club won the Serie D league with an all-time points record and started the 2019/20 season in Serie C.
Como 1907 began the 2020-2021 season with high hopes to prove themselves in Serie C. A global pandemic challenged their dreams, but the team fought hard in every match and was committed to their goal. Como 1907 and their loyal fans were rewarded at the end of the season as the winner of Serie C and the club was promoted to Serie B.
The team’s momentum has continued throughout the 2021-2022 season in Serie B. The team puts its heart into every game and is dedicated to reaching its next big goal.
115 years of history, a single passion, neverending glory
The first football game played in Como was played in the spring of 1906 on the lakeshore between the youngsters of Como who frequented the nearby Rowing Club “Canottieri Lario”, and a team made up of caretakers and Native Americans from the famous Buffalo Bill Circus, camped in the same area that the Sinigaglia stadium was later built.
The match resulted in a draw and was refereed by Colonel William Cody (Buffalo Bill) himself. That match was the spark that ignited Como’s youth who frequented the city’s sports clubs and helped form a small group of football enthusiasts, who decided in May 1907 to found the Como Football Club.
On 1 October 1911, the first official pitch was inaugurated in Via Dei Mille, enclosed with a grandstand, allowing the team to officially enrol in the FIGC leagues. Como started its football activity in the year 1912/13 participating in the Promotion League. The following year the arrival of Gustavo Carrer, the National Team’s striker, brought professionalism to the club, and the club participated in the First Category league, the equivalent of today’s Serie A.
The suspension of the leagues due to the First World War did not dampen the enthusiasm and passion for football in Como. The team remained in the First Category and gave life to epic derbies against Esperia, the city’s other line-up.
In 1922 there were economic problems, and despite the first place in their First Division group and the third place in the final group, the team was not included in the play-offs required by the C.C.I. for the admittance to the major league, and so participated in the Second Division.
In 1926 the authorities of the regime forced the two city teams, Como and Esperia, to merge to form the Associazione Calcio Comense. The new team coached by Gustavo Carrer started in the First Division league. On 30th July 1927, Prince Umberto di Savoia inaugurated the Sinigaglia Stadium, the current pitch.
In 1931 the team, coached by the Hungarian Gedeon Lukacs, won the First Division league and were promoted to Serie B without ever being defeated, establishing an unbeaten record never achieved by any other team.
Como remained in Serie B until 1935 under the leadership of Adolfo Balonceri, then Cevenini III. Due to further economic problems In 1936, the team were relegated and subsequently descended to the Promotion league. The relegation also led to the rebuilding of the club, dropping the name Comense and becoming the present Associazione Calcio Como.
The Second World War did not stop the activity and Como remained in Serie C, going on to win the Lombard Tournament in 1945, a tournament in which A.C. Milan and Inter Milan also participated.
The arrival of Eraldo Monzeglio in 1946 as the team’s coach brought many new developments: a new, much more offensive playing form and the restructuring of the youth academy, which became the Azzurri’s trademark. Monzeglio’s direction was later followed by Mario Varglien, who led Como to adopt the “System”, a playing method that only a few Italian teams have managed to implement, bringing effective results and beautiful play. Varglien’s team immediately pinched first place in Serie B in their first year, getting the promotion to Serie A several days in advance.
The following year the Azzurri were the surprise of the league, finishing sixth and achieving the best result in their history. Captain Stua, Travia, Rabitti, Lipizer, Pedroni, Maesani and Ghiandi stood out, the only team in Serie A with all Italian players, creating a very cohesive group both on and off the pitch and allowing the team to play four consecutive Serie A seasons.
The team came in eighth in the 1950/51 season, managing to defeat Lorenzi’s Inter Milan and draw with the Gre-No-Li trio’s A.C. Milan, who went on to win the Scudetto. Above all, they achieved their greatest feat in the Azzurri’s history by defeating Boniperti’s Juventus in Turin by three goals to zero. It was a memorable match that made the front pages of all the newspapers and sports weeklies.
In 1951 Varglien left Como, the team still did well by finishing 12th in the league. In 1953, however, the team was relegated to Serie B under Roberto Winkler.
Como played ten seasons in Serie B from 1953 to 1963, nearing promotion several times under coach Lamanna. The iconic player of the period was Giuseppe Baldini, who replaced Lamanna on the bench from 1961 to 1963.
In the 1960/61 season, the 18-year-old Gigi Meroni made his debut, the greatest talent ever to wear the Azzurri shirt, and the very best product of the youth academy. A versatile player destined to fill the pages of Italian football history, but whose fate was handed over to the realm of unfulfilled legends. Even today, whoever wears the Azzurri number seven shirt on the pitch knows that the name written above the number is not theirs, but Gigi’s.
In 1963 the team was relegated to Serie C for having used Paolo Bessi in five matches when he was supposed to serve a disqualification. Como remained in Serie C until promotion to Serie B in the 1967/68 championship under the guidance of Franco Viviani.
Como then claimed two excellent seasons in Serie B, but the big turning point came in 1971 with the arrival of the Sports Director Giancarlo Beltrami who brought Eugenio Bersellini on the bench. The B-B team, as it was called by fans, immediately achieved some great results, coming close to promotion and playing a brilliant game.
The great revolution took place in 1973 with the arrival of Pippo Marchioro, the new coach brought with him a new mentality, and Como was transformed into a sort of experimental football lab.
The team applied the first rudimentary zone play schemes, the players were constantly followed by a medical psychologist who also acted as a group motivator, and finally the goalkeeper Antonio Rigamonti kicked all the penalties awarded. Media attention soon shifted to the team and Como did not disappoint expectations. Led by the then 20-year-old Marco Tardelli, another discovery of Giancarlo Beltrami, they won Serie A in 1975 after an epic match against Verona on the last day of the season.
After 22 years Como returned to Serie A after an unremarkable season in Serie B and losing its best components (Marchioro and Tardelli). After the sixth place in 1976/77, a major change in the club took place that brought Como to Serie C the following year. Marchioro was called back to the team and the coach did not disappoint, accomplishing an extraordinary feat by taking Como up to Serie A in just two years.
In 1980/81 the team also participated in the Mitropa Cup, in addition to Serie A, finishing first along with a Czech and a Hungarian team, but did not win the cup due to goal difference. The team secured an untroubled season in Serie A and President Beretta prepared an excellent team for the following season, but things didn’t go as planned. Marchioro was dismissed and Como returned to Serie B. The 1982/83 season was unusual due to the presence of A.C. Milan and Lazio, but Como were great leaders and finished third together with Catania and Cremonese.
Dramatic play-offs were played in Rome with an Italian-style round-robin and Catania got the better of it. The following year, with the arrival of new president Benito Gattei, a very competitive team was put together and immediately returned to Serie A with Tarcisio Burnich on the bench. This was followed by five consecutive Serie A seasons from 1984 to 1989, where Como also showed strong play and launched numerous young players who went on to play for prestigious teams. Numerous coaches followed one another on the bench (Ottavio Bianchi, Emiliano Mondonico, Rino Marchesi, Aldo Agroppi), giving the team different playing characteristics while always maintaining a youthful feel both in the game and the players’ age.
From 1990 to 2001 the team played ten seasons in Serie C. This streak was only interrupted in the 1994/95 season when the team reached Serie B after beating Spal at the play-offs in Verona. The victory was also due to Marco Tardelli who had returned to coach the Azzurri, but he soon left to join Inter Milan’s Under-21 team after Como’s relegation the following year.
The team returned to Serie B in 2000/01, a promotion that had been strongly desired by the club’s president Enrico Preziosi. After three previous failed attempts, Loris Dominissini’s team surprised everyone and won the following year, led by Lulu Oliveira.
Como made the second big step in its history, the only Italian team to make the transition from Serie C to Serie A twice in two consecutive years. The team’s thirteenth Serie A season (2002/03) was immediately troubled due to the sale of Oliveira and a difficult relationship between President Preziosi and the football league system at that time. Relegation arrived shortly along with the departure of President Preziosi.
Various financial problems did not allow for the set up of a competitive team in the following years and as expected the team was relegated down to Serie C.
Further problems led to the bankruptcy of the club and a new start in 2005/06 in Serie D. Two difficult years followed in Serie D, but which then led to a double promotion, first with Ninni Corda’s Azzurri who were promoted to the Second Division in 2007/08, and won the Amateur Coppa Italia, and then again in 2008/09, with Stefano Di Chiara, who led the Larians to the First Division, after a double final play-off against Alessandria.
In 1926 the authorities of the regime forced the two city teams, Como and Esperia, to merge to form the Associazione Calcio Comense. The new team coached by Gustavo Carrer started in the First Division league. On 30th July 1927, Prince Umberto di Savoia inaugurated the Sinigaglia Stadium, the current pitch.
In 1931 the team, coached by the Hungarian Gedeon Lukacs, won the First Division league and were promoted to Serie B without ever being defeated, establishing an unbeaten record never achieved by any other team.
Como remained in Serie B until 1935 under the leadership of Adolfo Balonceri, then Cevenini III. Due to further economic problems In 1936, the team were relegated and subsequently descended to the Promotion league. The relegation also led to the rebuilding of the club, dropping the name Comense and becoming the present Associazione Calcio Como.
The Second World War did not stop the activity and Como remained in Serie C, going on to win the Lombard Tournament in 1945, a tournament in which A.C. Milan and Inter Milan also participated.
The arrival of Eraldo Monzeglio in 1946 as the team’s coach brought many new developments: a new, much more offensive playing form and the restructuring of the youth academy, which became the Azzurri’s trademark. Monzeglio’s direction was later followed by Mario Varglien, who led Como to adopt the “System”, a playing method that only a few Italian teams have managed to implement, bringing effective results and beautiful play. Varglien’s team immediately pinched first place in Serie B in their first year, getting the promotion to Serie A several days in advance.
The following year the Azzurri were the surprise of the league, finishing sixth and achieving the best result in their history. Captain Stua, Travia, Rabitti, Lipizer, Pedroni, Maesani and Ghiandi stood out, the only team in Serie A with all Italian players, creating a very cohesive group both on and off the pitch and allowing the team to play four consecutive Serie A seasons.
The team came in eighth in the 1950/51 season, managing to defeat Lorenzi’s Inter Milan and draw with the Gre-No-Li trio’s A.C. Milan, who went on to win the Scudetto. Above all, they achieved their greatest feat in the Azzurri’s history by defeating Boniperti’s Juventus in Turin by three goals to zero. It was a memorable match that made the front pages of all the newspapers and sports weeklies.
In 1951 Varglien left Como, the team still did well by finishing 12th in the league. In 1953, however, the team was relegated to Serie B under Roberto Winkler.
Como played ten seasons in Serie B from 1953 to 1963, nearing promotion several times under coach Lamanna. The iconic player of the period was Giuseppe Baldini, who replaced Lamanna on the bench from 1961 to 1963.
In the 1960/61 season, the 18-year-old Gigi Meroni made his debut, the greatest talent ever to wear the Azzurri shirt, and the very best product of the youth academy. A versatile player destined to fill the pages of Italian football history, but whose fate was handed over to the realm of unfulfilled legends. Even today, whoever wears the Azzurri number seven shirt on the pitch knows that the name written above the number is not theirs, but Gigi’s.
In 1963 the team was relegated to Serie C for having used Paolo Bessi in five matches when he was supposed to serve a disqualification. Como remained in Serie C until promotion to Serie B in the 1967/68 championship under the guidance of Franco Viviani.
Como then claimed two excellent seasons in Serie B, but the big turning point came in 1971 with the arrival of the Sports Director Giancarlo Beltrami who brought Eugenio Bersellini on the bench. The B-B team, as it was called by fans, immediately achieved some great results, coming close to promotion and playing a brilliant game.
The great revolution took place in 1973 with the arrival of Pippo Marchioro, the new coach brought with him a new mentality, and Como was transformed into a sort of experimental football lab.
The team applied the first rudimentary zone play schemes, the players were constantly followed by a medical psychologist who also acted as a group motivator, and finally the goalkeeper Antonio Rigamonti kicked all the penalties awarded. Media attention soon shifted to the team and Como did not disappoint expectations. Led by the then 20-year-old Marco Tardelli, another discovery of Giancarlo Beltrami, they won Serie A in 1975 after an epic match against Verona on the last day of the season.
After 22 years Como returned to Serie A after an unremarkable season in Serie B and losing its best components (Marchioro and Tardelli). After the sixth place in 1976/77, a major change in the club took place that brought Como to Serie C the following year. Marchioro was called back to the team and the coach did not disappoint, accomplishing an extraordinary feat by taking Como up to Serie A in just two years.
In 1980/81 the team also participated in the Mitropa Cup, in addition to Serie A, finishing first along with a Czech and a Hungarian team, but did not win the cup due to goal difference. The team secured an untroubled season in Serie A and President Beretta prepared an excellent team for the following season, but things didn’t go as planned. Marchioro was dismissed and Como returned to Serie B. The 1982/83 season was unusual due to the presence of A.C. Milan and Lazio, but Como were great leaders and finished third together with Catania and Cremonese.
Dramatic play-offs were played in Rome with an Italian-style round-robin and Catania got the better of it. The following year, with the arrival of new president Benito Gattei, a very competitive team was put together and immediately returned to Serie A with Tarcisio Burnich on the bench. This was followed by five consecutive Serie A seasons from 1984 to 1989, where Como also showed strong play and launched numerous young players who went on to play for prestigious teams. Numerous coaches followed one another on the bench (Ottavio Bianchi, Emiliano Mondonico, Rino Marchesi, Aldo Agroppi), giving the team different playing characteristics while always maintaining a youthful feel both in the game and the players’ age.
From 1990 to 2001 the team played ten seasons in Serie C. This streak was only interrupted in the 1994/95 season when the team reached Serie B after beating Spal at the play-offs in Verona. The victory was also due to Marco Tardelli who had returned to coach the Azzurri, but he soon left to join Inter Milan’s Under-21 team after Como’s relegation the following year.
The team returned to Serie B in 2000/01, a promotion that had been strongly desired by the club’s president Enrico Preziosi. After three previous failed attempts, Loris Dominissini’s team surprised everyone and won the following year, led by Lulu Oliveira.
Como made the second big step in its history, the only Italian team to make the transition from Serie C to Serie A twice in two consecutive years. The team’s thirteenth Serie A season (2002/03) was immediately troubled due to the sale of Oliveira and a difficult relationship between President Preziosi and the football league system at that time. Relegation arrived shortly along with the departure of President Preziosi.
Various financial problems did not allow for the set up of a competitive team in the following years and as expected the team was relegated down to Serie C.
Further problems led to the bankruptcy of the club and a new start in 2005/06 in Serie D. Two difficult years followed in Serie D, but which then led to a double promotion, first with Ninni Corda’s Azzurri who were promoted to the Second Division in 2007/08, and won the Amateur Coppa Italia, and then again in 2008/09, with Stefano Di Chiara, who led the Larians to the First Division, after a double final play-off against Alessandria.
The Sinigaglia, has always given me an emotional boost. I've always been connected to this club because I’ve also grown as a man in Como, which explains the affection.
Como is a big part of my life.
I made the pass that led to Cappellini's goal against Verona, I remember yelling my lungs out. Twenty years later, I returned to coach Como, because to me, Como is always Como.
"What is the most beautiful stadium in the world?" - asked Gianni Brera - "The Giuseppe Sinigaglia in Como, because it's located in the most beautiful place in the world"
The Sinigaglia, has always given me an emotional boost. I've always been connected to this club because I’ve also grown as a man in Como, which explains the affection.
Como is a big part of my life.
I made the pass that led to Cappellini's goal against Verona, I remember yelling my lungs out. Twenty years later, I returned to coach Como, because to me, Como is always Como.
"What is the most beautiful stadium in the world?" - asked Gianni Brera - "The Giuseppe Sinigaglia in Como, because it's located in the most beautiful place in the world"
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