Calcio Como

Como 1907, commonly referred to as Como, is an Italian football club based in Como, Lombardy, Italy. The club currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, following promotion from the 2020–21 Serie C season. The club was founded in 1907 and the team's colour is royal blue.

Como were in Serie A in 2002–03; this was followed by three consecutive relegations culminating in demotion to Serie C2 at the end of the 2004–05 following a playoff (2–1 on aggregate) with Novara Calcio. Financially overstretched they were declared bankrupt and excluded from participation in Italian professional football. They were immediately admitted to Serie D, the top level of non-professional football in Italy, where they spent three seasons before earning promotion back to Serie C2 in the 2007–08 season. After a further bankruptcy in 2016, a new company re-founded the club in 2017 and was admitted to Serie D for the 2017–18 season.

History

Como were first promoted to Serie A in 1949 and enjoyed a respectable four-year stay before relegation, the next 20 years were spent moving between Serie B and C but more often the former. A revival in the 1970s saw the club emerge as contenders for promotion to Serie A, this was achieved in 1975, but despite the best efforts of players such as Alessandro Scanziani they would last only a season. They would slump to C1 by 1978, but with a rebuilt team containing stars like Pietro Vierchowod would achieve successive promotions and a two-year stay in Serie A (1980–82).

Como managed another promotion to the top flight in 1984, with a five-year stint in Serie A proving the club's most successful period of recent times. The strikeforce of Dan Corneliusson and Stefano Borgonovo oversaw a 9th-place finish in 1986, which was repeated the following year with far fewer goals scored. The club's defence, led by hard man Pasquale Bruno, proved more than up to the task however. Relegation in 1989 precipitated a rapid decline, with Como spending most of the 1990s in Serie C1 with the exception of 1994–95. Former Chelsea and Tottenham goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini spent a year on loan at Como.

Bankruptcy and brief promotion to Serie B

The 21st century saw Como experience a brief revival. Promotion to Serie B in 2001 was marred by an appallingly violent incident in a game against Modena, resulting in captain Massimiliano Ferrigno being handed a three-year ban. They nonetheless managed promotion to Serie A in the 2002–03 season. However, the return to Serie A proved a major disappointment with the side in the bottom two all season, and a ban on games at the Sinigaglia after crowd violence. Successive relegations have caused financial difficulties; in December 2004 the club was declared bankrupted. No investor was successful to take over the club (as the bid from Preziosi was denied) thus the company "Calcio Como S.p.A." was liquidated. Thanks to FIGC regulation, a new entity Calcio Como S.r.l. was allowed to admit into 2005–06 Serie D. The liquidator also found former chairman Enrico Preziosi had transferred some assets such as the contracts of the players to his new club Genoa, causing the financial failure of Como. They returned to the rebranded Serie C2, Lega Pro Seconda Divisione in 2008, after having won the Girone B of Serie D. Como finally returned to Serie C1 (Lega Pro Prima Divisione) after promotion play-offs after defeating Rodengo Saiano with 1–1 aggregate and Alessandria with 4–1 aggregate. In 2015, Como finished fourth in the third-tier, now called Lega Pro. They qualified for the promotion play-offs and earned promotion to Serie B after beating Bassano Virtus in the two-legged final 2–0 on aggregate. They were relegated back down to Lega Pro the following season.

F.C. Como / Como 1907

New economic problems arose in the 2016–17 season, forcing the club to be declared out of business and put on auction. At the fourth auction, the assets of the club were acquired by Akosua Puni Essien, wife of the Ghanaian footballer Michael Essien and first foreign businesswoman in Italian football (via her company F.C. Como S.r.l.).

However, Italian Football Federation (FIGC) rejected the application of F.C. Como as Como's successor in 2017–18 Serie C, as the club did not fulfill all the criteria in the Article 52 of N.O.I.F. At the start of season, another company Como 1907 S.r.l. was admitted to 2017–18 Serie D instead, excising another sub-clause of the Article 52.

After winning the Round B of Serie D, Como returned to professional football in 2019.

Since 2019, the club has been owned by Indonesian company Djarum Group led by Michael Hartono and Robert Budi Hartono and sponsored by Djarum subsidiary Mola since 2021. A former Chelsea and Millwall player Dennis Wise has been appointed as president.

Players

Current squad

Other players under contract

Out on loan

Notable former players

Internationals

The following is a list of Como players that were internationals whilst playing for the team:

* Migjen Basha
* Zito Luvumbo
* Joshua Brillante (Olympics)
* Dieter Mirnegg
* Dirceu
* Milton (Olympics)
* Kristiyan Trenchev ( U18, U19)
* Vedin Musić
* Doris Fuakumputu

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