Como director of sport Carlalberto Ludi is proud to see Nico Paz wear the captain’s armband in the Champions League against Feyenoord. ‘He arrived as a child basically.’
It kicks off at the De Kuip Stadion in Rotterdam at 17.45 UK time (18.45 CEST).
There are over 1,000 Como supporters in the stands of the De Kuip for what is an historic event, the first ever UEFA away fixture for the club, which opened its campaign crushing RB Leipzig 4-1 at the Stadio Sinigaglia last month.
Como making history all the time
“It is great to see 1,050 fans here to cheer on their team,” Ludi told Sky Sport Italia.
“This is a wonderful experience for them and for us, we want to enjoy it to the full. You know the mentality of Cesc Fabregas and the owners, so we are here to have a great game and make them proud.
“We have written many important pages in the history of Como, but we want to keep going and write more.”
Nico Paz is the Como captain for the first time from the starting XI this evening, having only ever worn the armband during the game when others left the field.
“I feel this is a significant growth, he arrived as a child basically three years ago, and now carries the armband and puts the team on his back. I always cite the unlucky match against Frosinone that we lost 2-0, where he showed how much he cares about this shirt, how much he cares about taking his team to success.
“We lost that day, but the attitude and approach to me is significant.”
With Moise Kean out injured, it looks as if Nico Paz will be used as a False 9, although Martin Baturina and Assane Diao are also more than capable of rotating to take that position, giving Feyenoord few reference points for marking.
“Numbers are relative now in tactics, our football is about possession, trying to dominate the play, control the tempo of the match, and not show off weak points to our opponents,” added Ludi.
“We have great respect for the Dutch school of football, our President already mentioned Johan Cruyff many times, he had a big influence on Spanish football too, and that filters down to our coach.
“With all that respect for their tradition, we are here to display our own style of football.”
Diao is up for a contract extension at Como, so is there any progress on that front?
“We are working in the office and there is no emergency to discuss. Assane is happy to be here, we’re happy to have him, we’re not in the final phases of negotiations, because we are in no rush.”