Como end 21-year Serie A absence with Cosenza draw
Como are now preparing for their 14th season in Serie A
- Published
Como ended a 21-year wait to return to Serie A after a 1-1 draw with Cosenza on the final day of the 2023-24 season.
Gennaro Tutino struck his 20th league goal of the campaign to put the visitors ahead on 30 minutes at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.
But Simone Verdi netted from the penalty spot in the 75th minute after Andrea Meroni tripped Patrick Cutrone to earn the hosts a point.
Venezia's 2-1 defeat by relegation-threatened Spezia ensured Como - backed by Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry - clinched the second and final automatic promotion spot in Serie B.
Osian Roberts, the club's caretaker boss, becomes the first Welshman to secure promotion into the Italian top-flight.
It means the Lombardy-based outfit - who have twice gone bankrupt in the last two decades - will play in the top tier of Italian football for the first time since 2003 after achieving a third promotion in six seasons to go up with champions Parma.
Bankruptcies, rises and yet more falls
Como's last Serie A victory came against Torino in May 2003
Promotion encapsulates what has been a remarkable rise for the Italian outfit who were playing in the non-professional fourth tier as recently as 2018-19.
After being relegated from Serie A in 2003, Como were plunged into the fourth tier, Serie D, following another relegation and then bankruptcy.
An arduous spell followed, and after reaching the second tier, Serie B, by 2015, the club endured a wretched 2015-16 season, finishing rock bottom to fall back into Serie C.
They were once again made bankrupt and forced to restart life in Serie D in 2017-18, although the club have been on an upward trajectory ever since.
Their changing of fortunes coincided with the takeover by the Djarum group in April 2019.
Como secured a return to the third tier little more than a month later after a glorious campaign in which they won 28 of their 34 league matches, losing just once.
After a respectable 13th place finish in Serie C in 2019-20, Como stunned the third tier by winning the title in 2020-21 to clinch a second promotion in three seasons.
Their sights swiftly turned to the big time.
The stars arrive, and the stars align
Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry were team-mates during their time at Arsenal
Ex-Wimbledon, Chelsea, Millwall and England midfielder Dennis Wise has been integral to the club's success.
The 57-year-old chief executive was in the stands to watch Como's final-day meeting with Cosenza, alongside Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.
Not content with having just one ex-Premier League name in their ranks, Como announced the marquee signing of former Spain, Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the summer of 2022.
The 2010 World Cup winner featured 17 times in the league as Como ended the campaign in 13th place.
Fabregas was swiftly followed to Lombardy by Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry, who, like Fabregas, is a part-owner in the club.
Following his sole season as a player, Fabregas turned to coaching and was duly appointed as interim boss of the first team in November last year following a stint with the club's under-19s.
However, only a month later, former Wales and Crystal Palace assistant boss Roberts was named as caretaker manager until the end of the season as Fabregas had not obtained the necessary Uefa coaching licence.
The Welshman, assisted by Fabregas, oversaw 12 wins in 21 matches to ensure the club returned to Serie A for the first time in more than two decades.
Como boss Osian Roberts told BBC Sport Wales: "(It's) A very proud moment for me.
"I came here in December. The target was to try and get promotion, if not build strongly towards next season.
"I can’t praise the players highly enough. All credit goes to them and all the staff I’ve worked closely with. We knitted very quickly and very well, and a special mention has to go to Cesc Fabregas (assistant manager).
"We’re extremely pleased that we’ve achieved what the target was, and it’s a dream come true."