Retro Como Shirt – Lake District's Forgotten Giants

Como 1907 was founded, as the name suggests, in 1907, making it one of the older clubs in Italian football. For much of the early twentieth century, the club operated in the regional divisions of northern Italy, building slowly and establishing a local identity rooted in the industrial and artisan culture of the Lake Como region. It was not until the latter half of the twentieth century that Como truly arrived on the national stage. After years of fluctuating between Serie B and the lower leagues, the club secured their most sustained period of top-flight football during the 1980s, spending several consecutive seasons in Serie A and proving themselves a credible and competitive force. During this era, Como faced off against the elite clubs of Italian football — Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Fiorentina — and acquitted themselves with distinction on many occasions. The club's stadium, the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, perched dramatically beside Lake Como, became one of Italian football's most atmospheric venues. Visiting teams found it an intimidating and unusual experience, with the lake shimmering in the background and passionate tifosi creating an intense atmosphere. Como's rivalry with Varese and other Lombard clubs added regional intensity to their football calendar. The club suffered relegation from Serie A in 1989 and the subsequent years proved difficult, with Como bouncing between Serie A, Serie B, and even lower divisions. They endured financial turbulence, administrations, and the heartbreak of further relegations into the amateur pyramid. However, the acquisition of the club by the Hartono family in 2019 marked a dramatic turning point. Backed by significant investment, Como rebuilt systematically, winning promotion through the divisions and achieving the remarkable feat of returning to Serie A for the 2024–25 season — their first top-flight campaign in over three decades. The arrival of marquee signings and the appointment of Cesc Fàbregas as head coach signalled that Como intended not merely to survive, but to thrive once more.

Como's history is studded with players who left lasting impressions on Italian football. During their 1980s Serie A heyday, the club attracted talented Italians and shrewd signings who gave everything for the blue and white. Striker Luigi Simoni, who later became a celebrated coach most famously at Inter Milan, was a key figure in Como's earlier years, combining playing and eventually managerial roles at the club he loved. The defender and midfielder contingent of the 1980s sides were typified by honest, committed Italians who embodied the working-class grit of the region. Manager Bruno Pace and later Osvaldo Bagnoli — who would go on to lead Hellas Verona to their shock Scudetto — both had connections to Como's development as a club. In goal, Como relied on dependable Italian keepers who were crucial to their ability to compete against the elite. The modern era has seen a remarkable transformation in Como's playing roster. Cesc Fàbregas, the former Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea midfield maestro, arrived not just as a player but eventually as manager, bringing his vision for attractive, technical football to the shores of Lake Como. His appointment coincided with high-profile signings including Raphael Varane, the World Cup-winning French defender, Patrick Cutrone — a local hero who returned home — and several other internationally recognised names eager to be part of Como's renaissance. These signings reflected the ambition of the new ownership and the extraordinary appeal of the club's project to footballers who could have chosen easier paths elsewhere.

The Como retro shirt is one of the most elegant and underappreciated collectables in Italian football. The club's traditional colours — a distinctive light blue, often described as azzurro or celeste — give their vintage kits a serene, almost aristocratic quality that perfectly mirrors the lake and sky of their home city. Through the 1980s, Como's kits featured the clean lines typical of that era, with simple round or V-neck collars and bold colour blocking that made them instantly recognisable on the pitch. Early sponsors began to appear on the shirts during this decade, as commercial partnerships became standard across Serie A, adding another layer of historical interest for collectors. The home shirt in various shades of blue, occasionally paired with white shorts, remained the constant identity of the club even as designs evolved through different manufacturers. Away kits from the 1980s sometimes featured white or grey, providing contrast and their own collector appeal. What makes a retro Como shirt particularly special is its rarity — these are not mass-produced items from glamour clubs, but genuine pieces of Italian football history from a club that competed at the highest level against the greatest teams in the world. Condition, season specificity, and whether a shirt is match-worn or a replica all influence desirability significantly for serious collectors.