It certainly was an eye-catching result at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Tuesday night – if there any people left who had not taken notice of the Como revolution, they did so with a 9-1 win away to Lens in the Champions League.
Last season, the Cesc Fàbregas-managed side had nicely interchangeable adidas kits.
This time around, like so many clubs and countries supplied by the German firm, the use of the trefoil logo on their change kit prevents them from having a cohesive ‘set’ (fellow Serie A side Lecce, back with adidas, are a notable exception in this regard).
They didn’t really need to change from royal blue against Lens’ yellow and red, but the white and navy strip did look very smart – that said, any kit would when accompanied by the football that Como produced.
In addition, the backs of the shirts provided succour for those who enjoy when teams come close to lining out 1-11.
Serie A has long been a source of frustration for the classicists, given the frequency with which high digits are seen – it’s easy to forget that, for the first few seasons after squad numbering was introduced, the FIGC didn’t allow gaps apart from specials cases such a number being retired – and i Lariani are not averse to that, with summer arrivals Moise Kean, Robert Sánchez and Trevoh Chalobah wearing 90, 97 and 99 respectively.
However, Como had had nine players in the 1-11 bracket starting their previous European game, the brilliant 4-1 win over Manchester United and here they went one better as number 8 Maxence Caqueret was chosen instead of Martin Baturina, who wears 20.
As a result, they had 1-10 and then Yan Couto wearing 27 – incidentally, exactly the same numbers as Tottenham Hotspur had against Crystal Palace in 2021 while it was similar to Scotland against England at Euro 2020.
It’s not a ‘classic’ layout, in that right-back Couto would be given 11 if the team was given the #1to11ify treatment; attacker Assane Diao has 11 as his squad number and so they are unlikely to field with the full 1-11.
Even so, it’s better than most efforts one sees nowadays.
Also in Europe… Sunderland vs Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup Europa League and both teams devoid of shirt sponsorship.
Very pre-1995 UEFA final style!