George Clooney, on film and surely in private life, has seduced quite a few women and quite a few women have tried to seduce him. It is more difficult for a football club to get it, although the fans of English Derby County say that he is from their team, and at the time he flirted with acquiring a stake in Malaga.
The seducer in this case is Como 1907, from the Italian series B (nothing to do with giants like Juve, Inter or Milan), taking advantage of the fact that Pisuerga passes through Valladolid. Which in this case means that the North American actor and producer, a fan of the king of sports, has a fabulous mansion on the shores of the lake in northern Italy that bears the same name as the team and the city. He has already launched many hints and has put a few hooks on him, so far without success.
Serie B is not (at least not yet) Piqué’s Kings League, but Como 1907 tries to combine football with show business, celebrities and show business. It is a very particular club, owned by the Malaysian conglomerate Djarum, with former England international Dennis Wise as executive director in charge of transfers, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fàbregas as investors, and the former Barça, Arsenal and Chelsea player as the most recognized star. Although he does not live in Italy but in Switzerland, on the shores of a different lake (Lugano), and for training and home games he has to cross the border and take a three-quarter-hour drive through Heidi’s landscapes.
More than for football, Como is known as a place of leisure and entertainment for millionaires, legendary hotels, mythical spas and yachts that sail the placid waters of the lake. As for the team, it has had its moments of relative glory, but has never established itself in Serie A. And since its last appearance in the top flight, it has gone bankrupt twice and been relegated to Serie D, the The most gloomy of Dante’s hells, just to go bankrupt, without buying referees, or paying an Italian Negreira (perhaps Juventus did) or anything like that.
But Como 1907, with Fàbregas on board (he is 35 years old, the body goes as far as it goes and he has admitted that in the future he would like to be a coach, a first step to sit on an important bench in the Premier League), he is going up and has already climbed to the Italian second division, where it occupies tenth place. And that the Stadio Comunale Giuseppe Sinigaglia – a local war hero – with a capacity for only 13,000 spectators, which dates back to 1907 and was built at the express wish of Mussolini, could use a lick of paint. To begin with, the changing rooms have already been renovated.
Many things enter through the eyes and, although there are many ways to seduce, good looks are important, as George Clooney well knows. Hence the plan to renovate the Comunale, or tear it down and build a new one, with 21st century amenities. And from there, attract investors and stars, and be bought by someone with a reputation and pockets full of money. And if he is the actor, all the better.
After four seasons with Monaco in the French Ligue 1, Cesc Fàbregas moved to Como last season on a two-year contract and the purchase of a small percentage of the club. The number 4 has given solidity to the midfield of the Lombard team and a new twist to a career that has seen his most brilliant moments in London, especially at the Emirates.
Will the great seducer be seduced? By the time Clooney falls into the arms of the Como, if he does, there will be no more theaters and all movies will be on Netflix.
