Como is learning more and more what it means to be watched.
Not in the abstract sense with which clubs talk about global reach, but in a concrete way: a different accent at the bar on match day, a new flag on the shoulders in line, a visitor who chooses the longest route to get to Sinigaglia and makes the lake appear at the right time. The stadium has always been a postcard; today it is becoming a real destination.
Isaac came from Venezuela to see it in person.
Isaac didn’t grow up with Como: the connection came through family. A cousin had moved to the area for work more than a year ago and told him about a team that played right on the lake. That detail stuck with him.
“He told me about a soccer team on the lake,” Isaac says. “I told her that I would like to visit the stadium one day.”
At the beginning it was just a romantic idea, a hypothetical future trip, a stadium in a place you already wanted to visit. Then the promotion of Como and the involvement of a growing club which transformed curiosity into constant attention. Isaac began to follow him from afar, as many fans do today, including video highlights, lineups and an increasingly clear understanding of what it means to experience a season.
“As a football fan I found it one of the most fascinating places to see, and the growth of the club after promotion inspired me to follow it more closely,” he says. “This year I decided to spend my holidays in Italy and make my dream come true by taking part in the match against Hellas Verona”.
This is part of the new reality of Como. People aren’t just discovering a team. They are discovering the true match day experience. A city with its own rhythm. A stadium that creates its own version of modern football. A terrain that seems to direct you towards the water, while football awaits to entertain you.
Isaac’s story also tells something about how Serie A travels around the world.
“In Venezuela we follow Italian football quite closely,” he says. “There are communities of fans of the most famous clubs and others that have great growth potential in Venezuela and South America. Serie A matches are always on TV.”
Venezuela is a country where baseball still dominates the sports debate. But Isaac describes football as the sport with the broadest appeal and easiest passport.
“Even though baseball is our main sport, many people prefer football for its global influence,” he explains.
So, where does Como fit into a market that has traditionally followed the most legendary clubs?
For Isaac it is a club that is easier to fall in love with today, because it transmits vitality and because the project has great potential.
“I think Venezuelans see Como as a team that has grown quickly and is fun to watch,” he says, “especially thanks to players like Nico Paz and Morata.”
Then comes the part that every visitor remembers. The first time you hear the noise. The way a small stadium can feel deafening, because the sound has no escape other than coming back at you. The way the audience moves, it compacts, even before the turnstiles.
Isaac went to Sinigaglia in the rain and discovered that the weather does not dilute faith.
“It was an unforgettable experience,” he says. “I was surprised by the energy of the fans and how, even in the rain, they never stopped singing, with that particular echo”.
He noticed the city change color as we got closer to kickoff. Not so much because of the spectacularity, but rather because of the repetitiveness. Stickers. Jerseys. Scarves. A logo on a jacket. A family that walks with conviction.
“You could feel the support already on the train to the match,” he says. “The team logo was everywhere, hours before kick-off.”
For those arriving from the other side of the world, these signs matter. They make you feel like you’re not invading a private ritual. They invite you to participate.
“It was great to see families go to the stadium together and cheer side by side,” Isaac says. “I appreciated every moment, especially the goals that confirmed the victory.”
This is another aspect that Como wants to demonstrate to visitors. The dimensions may seem small, but the emotion is not.
Isaac speaks of the stadium as a footballing rarity. Not because he’s old. But because it is inserted in a landscape that transforms a match into a memory even before the ball starts to move.
“I would absolutely recommend this experience to other Venezuelan and South American fans,” he says. “It’s not just the emotion of football: the stadium is in one of the most magical places I’ve ever seen.”
He describes it as an experience that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. Emotion and scenery in the same frame.
“There aren’t many sporting experiences that combine the emotional and landscape aspects like this, and this is what makes Como special,” he says.
And when he tries to explain the Curve to those who have never experienced it, he resorts to the simplest contrast. Small on paper. Immense live.
“I would say to prepare yourself to discover how a fan base that may seem small can be boundless in spirit and passion”.
Como has always belonged to Como. This is the meaning of a club like this. But now it is also starting to belong to those who arrive with a suitcase, a dream and the name of a stadium that they had once heard described as overlooking the lake.
Isaac came from Venezuela because he had been told a story. He left with one of his own to tell.
And Como continues to collect them.
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