Como soccer team is attracting more than just celebrities to Italy’s famous lake

ROME (AP) — George Clooney’s villa is a 20-minute drive up the lake shore road from Como’s stadium.

Kate Beckinsale was a spectator in the stands last weekend.

Celebrity spottings and weddings have long been a pastime on Italy’s famous lake, which is known for its majestic views of the Alps.

Now there’s another reason to visit: The local soccer team is making rapid progress in its first season back in the top division in more than two decades.

Since Indonesian tobacco billionaire brothers Roberto Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono purchased the club five years ago in Serie D, the club has also been attracting soccer celebrities.

Como coach Cesc Fabregas and former France striker Thierry Henry — both World Cup winners and former teammates at Arsenal — are minority owners.

“We chose to invest in Como because investing exclusively in soccer comes with unpredictable risks,” said Mirwan Suwarso, who manages Como for the Hartonos. “Here we’re relying on a brand: We want to make this the top soccer tourism destination in the world.”

The heavy foreign investment has attracted a mix of well-known veteran players and rising prospects.

Veterans such as former Liverpool and Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina and former Barcelona captain Sergi Roberto. Plus former France and Real Madrid center back Raphael Varane, who then decided to retire but plans to remain with the club in another role.

Alberto Moreno, a 32-year-old left back, has played every minute of the opening six Serie A matches after signing as a free agent in July after leaving Villarreal — having previously played for Liverpool.

Then there’s Nico Paz, a 20-year-old attacking midfielder signed from Real Madrid; and Alieu Fadera, 22-year-old Gambian winger signed from Genk.

Add in Como-born striker Patrick Cutrone (formerly of AC Milan), who is tied atop the league scoring chart with four goals in six games, and it’s clear that there’s a mix of players not usually seen at a promoted club.

“Como is the revelation of the season,” Napoli coach Antonio Conte said before the Serie A leader hosts Como on Friday.

In Como’s last three matches, it held Champions League side Bologna to 2-2, won at Champions League side Atalanta 3-2 and beat Hellas Verona 3-2 to move into the top half of the table in 10th.

“The ambitions are high,” Cutrone said. “But the first objective remains avoiding relegation. Then we’ll see about the rest.”

The club is collaborating with Lake Como Tourism to help attract more visitors to the area. Already 40% of Como’s tickets are being purchased by foreigners.

“But we also wanted to award our most devoted fans who have been season-ticket holders since Como was in Serie C,” Suwarso said in Corriere della Sera. “For them, we haven’t increased the ticket prices from last season.”

Visiting the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona will be extra special for Fabregas, who will be facing one of his former coaches.

Fabregas played under Conte for two seasons at Chelsea. They won the English Premier League together the first year and the FA Cup the second season.

But before the trophies came, Conte told Fabregas when he arrived in London that he might want to think about finding another club because the coach didn’t anticipate using him much.

“It was the first time in my career, or maybe in my life, that someone had said something like that to me,” Fabregas said this week, adding he took the message as motivation to work harder.

“And after four months I was playing all the time,” Fabregas said. “He made me suffer in training. I learned a ton from him. It was a different method — a type of soccer I had never experienced before. Now I use his teachings when things get tough. He taught me a lot and I thank him for that.”

Conte added, “I always thought he could be a coach. He was curious and was always trying to learn.”

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Como's Patrick Cutrone plays the ball following the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Como at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 24 , 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Cesc Fabregas smiles following the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Como at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 24 , 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Gabriel Strefezza celebrates after scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Como at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 24 , 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Patrick Cutrone kisses the jersey as he celebrates scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Como and Verona at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium in Como, northern Italy, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.(Antonio Saia/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Andrea Belotti celebrates scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Como and Verona at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium in Como, northern Italy, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.(Antonio Saia/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Nico Paz, right, and Sergi Roberto celebrate after Paz scored during the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Como at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 24 , 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Cesc Fabregas is congratulated following the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Como at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 24 , 2024. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Patrick Cutrone celebrates scoring during a Serie A soccer match between Como and Verona at the Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium in Como, northern Italy, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.(Antonio Saia/LaPresse via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)