Bayern Munich has now lost its reputation - and is probably grateful for it. Now an Italian Serie A club bears the title "FC Hollywood" - albeit for different reasons.
03.04.2025, 04:31
03.04.2025, 07:00
SDA
Even though ZDF has just revived FC Hollywood in a five-part series: for FC Bayern, the days when stars such as Lothar Matthäus, Jürgen Klinsmann and Mario Basler generously supplied the media with gossip and gossip over the years are long gone. In Munich, they are very happy about it.
A quarter of a century later, another club in European football is establishing itself as the new FC Hollywood: Italian Serie A promotion contenders Como 1907. The team from the town of 85,000 inhabitants just across the Swiss border on Lake Como is not made up of well-known players and has yet to provide any intrigue. However, real Hollywood celebrities regularly sit in the stands at home games.
Celebrities from Keira Knightley to Hugh Grant
Just a small selection of the actors who have recently been seen in the VIP area of the small Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia directly on the lakeshore: Hugh Grant, Kate Beckinsale, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch and Adrien Brody, who recently won his second Oscar for "The Brutalist".
Grant ("Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill") - actually known as a fan of Premier League club FC Fulham - even raised his fist in celebration when Como scored a goal in 1907. Beckinsale ("Underworld") purred after her visit to the stadium: "What emotions, what adrenaline and energy. I enjoyed every minute."
Billionaire family from Indonesia finances club
The interest of the Hollywood stars has less to do with sporting success: Como are currently in 13th place in the Serie A table, with the team led by Spanish coach Cesc Fabregas some way off the relegation places. But the places that entitle them to European competition are even further away.
The decisive reason for the celebrities in the stands is rather the owners: the Indonesian brothers Michael and Robert Hartono, who took over Como six years ago in search of a club with prospects. With an estimated fortune of 45 billion euros, the 83 and 85-year-old Hartonos are among the richest men in the country in their football-mad homeland. Their empire includes the conglomerate Djarum and the bank BCA. They also invest in sport in Asia, particularly in badminton and football.
When the Indonesians joined Como, the traditional club was playing in the amateur fourth division. It had its best period in the 1980s, when German international Hansi Müller (formerly of VfB Stuttgart and Inter Milan) also played there for a short time. Then it was mostly downhill. At one point, the club was even bankrupt. Salaries could no longer be paid, not even the costs for the training ground.
The Hartonos went from Serie D to Serie A in half a decade. The most prominent name is still coach Fabregas, who was under contract as a player at Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea and became both European and world champion. But the club also has promising talent around Argentine international Nico Paz, who is only 20 years old. From Germany, former Düsseldorf player Yannik Engelhardt and former Hertha player Marc-Oliver Kempf are also on board.
So far, they have waited in vain for Clooney
The Indonesians have already spent many millions of euros on their commitment. The expansion of the stadium, which currently only has around 10,000 seats, is due to be completed by 2027. There is no word on the exact sums involved - or on the "entry fee" that Hollywood celebrities will receive for a visit to the stadium. There is talk of five-figure sums.
In return, Como 1907 is no longer only reported on in the sports section of Italian newspapers, but also internationally on the colorful pages. However, they are still waiting in vain for one star: George Clooney, who owns a villa with his wife Amal in the small town of Laglio, just a few kilometers up the lake. The 64-year-old has never made an appearance at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.
