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In a recent filmed interview, Martin Baturina comes across much as he plays. Calm, clear and completely at ease.
That is what gives shape to the story of his first season at Como so far. Not just the numbers or the reputation he arrived with, but the feeling of a player who has settled naturally into a new club, a new country and a new level without appearing overawed by any of it. He speaks with the same composure he brings to the pitch. There is no rush in him, no sense of someone trying too hard to say the right thing. Instead, there is clarity.
“The first visit was very nice. I saw Lake Como, beautiful city, beautiful lake. First training session was very good. The players are very friendly, the coach is ambitious, and the whole team is ambitious. I’m just happy to be here.”
It is an answer that does a lot of work. Baturina does not frame the move in dramatic terms. He speaks simply about what he found, and what stood out to him was the environment and the ambition around it.
In the interview, he is equally straightforward about why Como appealed in the first place.
“When I heard they were interested in me, I was happy. The coach called, showed me the plans for the future, and I really liked them.”
That sense of purpose is important. Baturina did not arrive as a young player hoping to find his way. He arrived with a serious football education already behind him, and with the sense that this was the right next step. What Como have seen so far is a player who looks comfortable with that decision.
His first season has already shown the qualities that made him such an exciting arrival. There is intelligence in the way he plays, but also calmness. He sees space early, keeps the ball moving, and gives the impression of someone who understands how to influence a match without forcing it. He is creative, but controlled. Stylish, but disciplined. Those are not always easy qualities to carry into a first season in Serie A, especially at a club with attention and ambition around it, but Baturina has done so with real assurance.
The interview makes another thing clear too. He is comfortable with expectation, but not consumed by it. When the comparison to Luka Modrić comes up, he handles it with maturity.
“I don’t think there will ever be another Modrić. We have different styles. But I probably share some qualities with him, that’s why people make the comparison.”
It is a good answer because it feels balanced. He does not reject the compliment, but he does not try to live inside it either. He acknowledges the comparison, then quietly steps back into his own space. That feels true to the wider impression he gives. There is confidence there, but it is measured.
The same is true when he talks about what drives him.
“Personally, I want to win games and become a better player, a better version of myself. As a team, we’re very ambitious. We want to win as many games as we can and see where that takes us.”
That line gives the piece its forward motion. Baturina speaks like a player focused less on image than on progress. In his first season at Como, that attitude has suited both him and the club. He has arrived at a place with a clear idea of where it wants to go, and he sounds entirely comfortable inside that ambition.
What also comes across in the filmed interview is that he is easy to warm to. He is relaxed, thoughtful and quietly funny in places, with none of the stiffness that can flatten these moments. That has helped make his first season feel broader than a football story alone. There is already a sense of personality around him, and that has extended naturally into culture too.
A good example was the collaboration with British artist RJ Customs, who hand painted a bespoke shirt inspired by Baturina’s EA Sports FUT Fantasy card. It was a smart crossover, linking football, gaming and visual culture through a player whose appeal already feels bigger than the pitch alone. The piece gained traction internationally and was even featured on Croatian national television, adding another layer to the way Baturina’s first season has been seen beyond Como.
Still, the strongest part of the story is the simplest one. In his first season at Como, Baturina has already looked at home.
That matters. First seasons can often feel like long introductions. This one has not. Instead, it has felt like the early stage of something more meaningful. The filmed interview captures that well. Not a player trying to convince anyone, but one who already seems sure of where he is and why he is here.
That is what makes his first season so encouraging. He has brought quality, calm and character, and he has done it in a way that suggests this is only the beginning.