“A perfect script of water, cinema and calcio.”
Nico Paz prepares to take a free kick. He steps back. Takes a deep breath. His left-footed strike flies well over the bar. The Argentine, who this season wears the number 10 for Como 1907, fails to convert any of his many attempts during the warm-up before the Serie A 2025/26 debut against Lazio. All his teammates are already inside the tunnel. Only he remains on the pitch. He insists once more and, without luck, walks back to the dressing room. The prologue to a film yet to be shot.
Como is a dreamlike city, with the lake as its protagonist. A protagonist like George Clooney in Ocean’s Eleven. The American actor bought Villa Oleandra here at the start of the century, and suddenly that exclusive refuge of Europe’s aristocracy appeared on the covers of magazines and television shows.
Villa Oleandra is just one among hundreds of mansions that flank this cinematic lake. But in 2025, Como no longer belongs only to nobility or television glamour: it now also speaks the universal language of football.
Como 1907 plays in a modest yet exquisite stadium, just steps from the crystal waters that inspire the blue of their shirt. In recent years, the club has given the city a new heartbeat: children and families in the azzurra jersey, tourists mingling with locals, a sense of community that grounds the city’s reputation for inaccessibility.
Accustomed to luxury stages like Barcelona, London or Monaco, Cesc Fàbregas landed in Como in 2022 as a Serie B player. After hanging up his boots in 2023, he quickly moved to the dugout and, in May 2024, delivered a historic promotion to Serie A. Today, he is the elegant head coach of an ensemble that blends veteran stars with emerging talents. This Sunday, August 24, marked the beginning of his second season in Italy’s elite.
Women dressed with the sophistication of northern Italy in high heels and designer handbags, old men in blue kits waiting with the lake as a backdrop, friends drinking the first beers of the season, tourists parading from the official store —in partnership with the exclusive Tessabit brand— to the stadium with the latest merchandise. Álvaro Morata and Sergi Roberto in loafers and pleated trousers, chatting with Pedro from Lazio. The pre-match was absolute cinema.
The match itself was too, and it had a protagonist: Nico Paz. Early in the second half, after shaking off his marker, he set up Douvikas for the 1–0. Less than half an hour later, the prologue scene repeated itself. Run-up, breath, left foot. This time, the ball flew like a missile into the top corner. 2–0, and the ending was written. “Since the start of preseason, he has trained without pause: repetitions, free kicks after free kicks. In the end, the effort pays off,” said Fàbregas of his number 10.
And as in every good film, beyond the director and the protagonist, there was a soundtrack. For the full 90 minutes, the Curva Azzurra of the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia sang without rest amid flares, drums, flags and scarves.
Because football may exist with glamour, but it can never exist without passion. And that is something the lake knows, the city knows, and Como’s Serie A debut confirms: a perfect script of water, cinema and calcio.
