Cesc Fabregas leads Como to historic Champions League qualification

A club that was playing in Italy’s fourth division seven years ago will compete in the Champions League next season. Como 1907, coached by Cesc Fabregas, clinched a fourth-place finish in Serie A on May 24, 2026, after a 4-1 demolition of Cremonese coincided with AC Milan’s loss to Cagliari. It is the first time in the club’s 119-year history that Como has qualified for any European competition. Not the Champions League specifically. Any European competition, period. From Serie D to the continent’s top table The numbers tell a story that would feel implausible in a football video game. Como finished the 2025-26 Serie A campaign with 71 points from 38 matches: 20 wins, 11 draws, and 7 losses. They scored 65 goals, the second-highest tally in the league, and conceded just 29, giving them the best defensive record in all of Serie A. Fabregas joined Como as a player in 2022, a move that raised eyebrows at the time. A World Cup winner, a two-time European Championship winner, a former captain of Arsenal signing for a lower-league Italian side felt more like a lifestyle choice than a career decision. Then he retired and took over as head coach in 2023, and the lifestyle choice turned int...