When Tasos Douvikas joined Como 1907, he knew he was arriving at a club with ambition. He had followed the project, understood what Cesc Fàbregas was building and liked the idea of being part of a young team looking to establish itself in Serie A.
What he couldn't have predicted was quite how much would happen next.
Twenty-two goals, joint second place in last season's Serie A scoring charts, a Champions League debut and a new contract. It has been a remarkable period for the Greek striker, although speaking to him, there is little sense of someone getting carried away with his own achievements.
Instead, he talks about the people around him, the coaches he has learnt from and how comfortable he has become in a city that was unfamiliar to him when he first arrived.
"I was so happy to join a club with such ambition, a great staff and a great team. But you never know what the future will bring. What we achieved in the following months was unbelievable."
Douvikas arrived with a reputation as a natural goalscorer. His career had already taken him from Greece to the Netherlands, where his performances for FC Utrecht earned him a move to Celta Vigo in La Liga. At Utrecht, he had finished as the Eredivisie's leading scorer, evidence of the penalty-box instincts that have since become familiar to Como supporters.
Moving to Italy presented another challenge. Different football, different demands and a team with a very particular way of playing.
For a striker, adapting to Fàbregas's approach requires more than being in the right place to finish a move. There is the positioning, the timing of runs, the movement needed to create space for teammates and the responsibility of contributing even when the ball is nowhere near the penalty area.
It is a side of his game Douvikas has worked hard to develop, and one he believes has improved considerably since arriving at Mozzate.
"I have developed so much. The staff have helped me in a way I hadn't experienced at another club in my career. I always listen carefully to what Fàbregas says, but all the other coaches have also helped me become the player I am now."
There is an interesting detail in the way Douvikas talks about working with Fàbregas. In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, he explained that the manager doesn't simply tell players what to do. He gives them principles to work within, but also the freedom to make decisions and think for themselves.
For a striker, that means learning to read situations rather than simply reacting to them. Knowing when to make a run, when to hold a position and when the better option is to create space for someone else.
It's an approach Douvikas credits with improving his understanding of the game. The goals have been important, but so has everything he now contributes when he isn't scoring.
He speaks about the coaching staff with genuine appreciation. Fàbregas's attention to detail and expectations are important, but Douvikas is quick to acknowledge the wider group working with the players every day.
It says something about his character. He knows his role in the team is to score goals, but he is equally conscious of the work that goes into creating those opportunities.
It is also clear that he enjoys the environment. Ask him about life at the training ground and he is just as happy talking about the people he sees every morning as he is about what happens on the pitch.
There is something reassuringly straightforward about his description of a normal day. Arriving at Mozzate, seeing his teammates, working hard, sharing a conversation and enjoying being part of the group.
Footballers spend an enormous amount of time together, and not every dressing room is an easy one to be part of. Douvikas makes it clear that he values the atmosphere Como have created.
It is one of the reasons his decision to sign a new contract was so straightforward.
"It's like a family for me here. I love the city, I love the fans, I love the club. So it was a very easy choice."
Of course, there is another fairly important reason why life in Como has been enjoyable. He has been scoring goals.
For a centre-forward, confidence often comes from a relatively simple place. Finding the net regularly, knowing that teammates trust you to finish chances and feeling that you can make a difference when a match is tight.
Douvikas has provided that for Como, establishing himself as an important part of the attack while continuing to improve other areas of his game.
His goals have arrived at significant moments too, perhaps none more memorable than his first in the Champions League.
Como's opening match against RB Leipzig at the Sinigaglia was already an occasion supporters had been looking forward to for months. The club's first appearance in Europe's leading competition, at home, in front of a crowd that had witnessed an extraordinary rise in a relatively short period.
For Douvikas, it was also his first appearance in the competition.
He marked it with a goal, contributing to a victory that gave the home supporters another evening to remember.
"It was an unbelievable emotion, one of the best I've experienced in football. To score on my Champions League debut, to win such an important game and celebrate with our fans... Those are feelings you carry with you for the rest of your life."
There are easier ways to begin a Champions League career, but not many better ones.
He followed that first goal with another in Como's second match, making it two in his opening two appearances in the competition.
It was a rewarding start at a level he had worked towards throughout his career, and another indication of how comfortably he has settled into the team.
What stands out when he remembers those matches, however, is how quickly the conversation moves away from his individual contribution.
He talks about the importance of winning, what the results meant to the group and the satisfaction of seeing the team's work rewarded.
It is an attitude that has become familiar to journalists who have interviewed him. Despite the growing attention surrounding Como, Douvikas has always preferred to keep a relatively low profile.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport after the Leipzig match, he explained that his approach was to remain himself, concentrate on his work and spend as much time as possible at the training ground.
He appreciates the excitement around the team and the energy it brings, but is equally conscious that too much attention can become a distraction.
It is a sensible approach for a player enjoying one of the best periods of his career, and one that fits with the way he talks about the team's ambitions.
Whether it is Serie A, the Coppa Italia or the Champions League, the objective is to compete in every match and see how far they can go.
Naturally, he wants to keep scoring. No striker is going to pretend otherwise. But for Douvikas, individual numbers matter most when they contribute to something bigger.
There is a sense that he understands what this period represents for the club. The standards are getting higher, the opposition is changing and expectations are growing. He wants to be part of that progress rather than simply enjoy what has already been achieved.
Away from the training ground and the stadium, his life is considerably quieter.
Like many players who move to Como, he has found that one of the advantages of living here is being able to enjoy the city without needing to do very much.
He likes walking through the centre, spending time by the lake and discovering restaurants with his wife. There is no particularly elaborate routine. Sometimes they go somewhere familiar, sometimes they try somewhere new.
The pace suits him, especially after the intensity of training and matches.
"I think everyone in the world should come and see Como at least once. The lake, the city, all the beauty here. It's something unique."
It is easy to forget how much of a footballer's career involves moving between countries, adapting to different cultures and starting again somewhere unfamiliar.
Douvikas had already experienced that in the Netherlands and Spain before coming to Italy. Each move brought opportunities, but also the challenge of building a life away from the football pitch.
In Como, he seems to have found the balance he was looking for.
He is also aware of the connection between the football club and the place it represents. As Como begin playing against some of Europe's biggest teams, more people are becoming familiar with the city through football.
For someone who has made Como his home, he likes the idea of supporters travelling here for a match and discovering the place for themselves.
There is also a rather fitting connection between his Greek roots and his new surroundings.
Douvikas has acquired the nickname Poseidon, after the Greek god of the sea. It is an obvious reference to his nationality, but one that has taken on an amusing relevance now that he lives beside one of Italy's most famous lakes.
He seems to enjoy the nickname and the connection to home. And while there is no shortage of football nicknames that require a little explanation, Poseidon is one that supporters have been happy to embrace.
For all the football, the goals and the experiences he has enjoyed since arriving in Como, though, there is something else occupying his thoughts at the moment.
He and his wife are expecting their first child, a baby girl, at the end of January or beginning of February.
It is a different kind of excitement for a player who has already had plenty to celebrate this season, and one that naturally puts everything else into perspective.
"I'm in a very good place right now. We're expecting our daughter, and it's a very important time for my wife and me, for our family."
There is a particular happiness in the way he speaks about becoming a father. He knows life is about to change, although quite what those changes will look like is still something he and his wife are discovering together.
For now, he is enjoying the anticipation and the chance to prepare for the arrival of their daughter.
It also helps explain why feeling settled in Como matters so much to him.
Football careers are rarely predictable. Players change clubs, teammates come and go, and the demands of the game can make it difficult to plan too far ahead.
Being somewhere he enjoys, surrounded by people he trusts and with a clear sense of what he wants to achieve, gives Douvikas a stability he values.
He is still young, still improving and, by his own admission, still learning from the people around him. There are more goals he wants to score, matches he wants to win and opportunities he hopes to experience with Como.
But there is no sense that he is looking beyond the club to find the next step.
He has committed his future here because he enjoys the football, believes in what the team is doing and, perhaps most importantly, likes the life he and his wife have built.
When he first arrived, Como was a new challenge in a career that had already taken him across Europe. Today, it is the place where he has enjoyed some of his best moments as a footballer and where he is preparing for one of the biggest moments of his life.
For a striker, there is always another goal to chase and another match to prepare for.
For Tasos Douvikas, there is also a baby girl on the way, a home he is happy in and plenty of reasons to look forward to what comes next.
It seems he has found himself in the right place.