We are only just getting our heads around the fact we are playing Inter, Milan and Juventus. "This is without doubt the biggest night in the club's history." The words of a Como staff member say it all. United may not be the force they once were and travel to Italy on the brink of a full-blown crisis after six games without a win, their worst run since 2018-19.
But, in terms of global stature, they are immense. To put this into context, when United savoured the last of their three Champions League triumphs in 2008, Como were a Serie D club, playing in one of nine semi-professional regional leagues, where attendances tend to be measured in their hundreds. According to chief executive Mirwan Surwaso, it was their status as an amateur club - they returned to Serie D in 2017 after being unable to convince the authorities of their financial wellbeing - which first attracted the London-based media company Sent Entertainment, owned by Indonesian billionaires Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono.
When they concluded a deal in 2019, the Hartono brothers were planning a TV project, with the idea of screening matches involving young Indonesian players back home. A visit from Manchester United was not part of the plan. There cannot be many Champions League stadiums you can walk around and in addition to seeing an iconic tourist attraction.
Lake Como is 29 miles long and 2.5 miles wide in some parts - you also come across a yacht club and an 'Aero Club' for the sea-planes that take off at regular intervals. The clubs themselves have been there for a long time. But Como also use their natural surroundings to offer one hour Lake Como tours, followed by 'pre-match Lakeside hospitality'.
In town - Como's population is just over 83,000, which means 90% of them could fit in the San Siro Stadium - there is a plush new club shop, selling all kinds of branded merchandise. There was no need for that in Serie D. "Somehow the team got promoted, we had to go professional, and the plan had to be scrapped," Surwaso told Piers Morgan's Football Uncensored Podcast this month.
The alternative plan is still being amended substantially. Initially it was expected this season would be a selling year, when some of the developing talents Como thought they could cash in on would be sold. Instead, manager Cesc Fabregas steered his squad to fourth place in 2025-26, capitalising on AC Milan's shock defeat at Cagliari.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
