Como are treating this week's Manchester United vs Como meeting as the biggest night in the club's history, a sign of how far the team has come from its Serie D days to a place on one of football's biggest stages.
The match will be played at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium, with Lake Como providing the kind of backdrop that has helped turn the club's rise into a wider story. One staff member said, 'It's Manchester United. We are only just getting our heads around the fact we are playing Inter, Milan and Juventus.' Another added, 'This is without doubt the biggest night in the club's history.'
That reaction makes sense when the timeline is laid out. In 2008, when Manchester United won their last of three Champions League titles, Como were a Serie D club. The club then returned to Serie D in 2017 after being unable to convince the authorities of their financial wellbeing. Since then, the path has changed sharply.
Sent Entertainment concluded a deal to be involved with Como in 2019, but the club's growth also forced a shift in approach. Mirwan Surwaso said, 'Somehow the team got promoted, we had to go professional, and the plan had to be scrapped,' capturing how quickly the club's ambitions had to adapt once promotion arrived.
How Como got here
The most recent proof of progress came in 2025-26, when Cesc Fabregas steered Como to fourth place. That finish underlined that this is no longer a club simply trying to survive at a higher level. It is a team with enough structure and momentum to host a match against Manchester United and treat it as a marker of how far it has climbed.
Even outside the football itself, the club's profile has grown. Earlier this week, Lionel Messi's son Ciro was pictured with Lionel Messi wearing a replica Como kit, a small but telling sign of how much attention the club now attracts.
What makes the occasion stand out is not only the opponent, but the contrast in history. Manchester United have three Champions League triumphs. Como, by contrast, were still in Serie D when United last lifted that trophy in 2008. This week, those two paths meet in one of the most unusual and meaningful fixtures in Como's modern history.
