How a Welshman helped end Como's 21-year Serie A absence

Como is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to Lake Como and the Alps.

And there will be another attraction on offer in the city next season – Serie A football.

The Lombardy-based team secured automatic promotion from Serie B as runners-up to Parma after a 1-1 draw with Cosenza on the final day of the 2023-24 season.

The man who has led the team to the top tier of Italian football is former Wales assistant Osian Roberts.

“Winning promotion was a dream of mine and now it’s become a reality,” Como boss Roberts told BBC Sport Wales.

“There’s an element of relief as well because when you work towards something you want to achieve that goal and that target.

“There’s an exciting future ahead, and I’m very pleased and very honoured to be working at such a special club.”

Como’s story is a remarkable one. The last time they were in Serie A was during the 2002-03 season, when they were relegated after a campaign in which they won only four matches.

Things went from bad to worse. More relegations followed and they ended up in Serie D, the non-professional fourth tier.

The club also went bankrupt twice - but things quickly improved after Indonesian tobacco giants Djarum took over the club in 2019.

“It’s been a very difficult period for the club. They’ve been in the darkness for a couple of decades," said Roberts.

“They have suffered in recent times and it’s been very tough for everyone who’s been involved.

“But now we’ve got these wonderful owners, and they want to develop it in a very ambitious way.”

Anglesey-born Roberts was appointed caretaker manager in December after Thierry Henry recommended him to the club.

France and Arsenal legend Henry is one of the shareholders and knows Roberts well after he studied for his coaching badges under the guidance of the Football Association of Wales (FAW) at Dragon Park in Newport.

The course was run by Roberts, who was FAW technical director at the time.

“To have someone like Thierry backing me, asking me to lead this project, it meant everything to me," Roberts added.

“And then of course comes the pressure of could I deliver on that? And that’s the sense of relief.

“I’ve been speaking to Thierry three or four times a week and his messages have always been positive and helpful, because he is an important part of the club.

“It goes down as a hugely successful chapter in the club’s history.

“We’re fortunate in that sense that we’ve got a number of good people that can help in terms of how we want the club to grow."

It is unknown whether or not Roberts will continue as manager next season.

When he was appointed in December he was also given the position of Como's head of development, with the intention that he would focus exclusively on that role from the start of the 2024-25 season.

“So the job is done in terms of what I was asked to do for the first few months," he explained.

“It’s been all hands on deck in terms of this challenge we’ve had over the last few months.

“Now we’ll have time to talk about how we structure in terms of moving forward. The main thing is that the club is in Serie A.

“The city, the community, the fans, as well as the football club are in a good place, and I’m very fortunate and very proud to be in the middle of that.”

Roberts has been assisted by former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who like Henry, is a shareholder at the club.

And even though Fabregas had a brief stint as interim boss last year, the Spaniard had not obtained the necessary Uefa coaching licence at the time.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Cesc. He’s an intelligent young man who was a top player. But more importantly he’s made a seamless transition into becoming a coach," said Roberts.

“His ideas have been very good and I’m sure he’s going to be a very successful coach.

“A great personality, and I know there’s more to come from him in the future.”

Roberts’ focus will now turn towards next season and trying to help the club stay in Serie A.

Currently, their home ground Stadio Comunale G Sinigaglia can only hold around 7,500 fans, but there are already plans to change that.

“It looks as if the club will develop the stadium. We want everybody on board, the council and so on, to help us do that as quickly as possible," Roberts said.

“I feel we can compete in Serie A, but we’ve got a lot of work to do in the summer.

“We had a good transfer window in January. We need to make sure that we do well again because it’s necessary to make the next step.

“But at the same time the players we have here – we have talent in abundance. We have experienced players who have been in Serie A before and others who are ready to make that step.

“I think we’re in a good place as a football club and these players deserve that opportunity. We’re not going there to make up the numbers – we’re going there to compete and to grow.

"Over the next few years we’ll see how successful we can be."