Jonathan Civitella is an international school teacher originally from the United States. He supports Como. Here, for our My Town, My Team series, Destination Calcio met up with Jonathan in Il Birratrovo, where he told us what brought him to the lake and how he fell in love with the place and its football team.

Why Como?

I’m from Philadelphia and I’ve been living in Como for the past five years. I never really supported a football team before moving here. I moved for a job.

Growing up in the States, I loved sports, loved going to baseball games, (American) football, basketball. I supported the Phillies (MLB), the Eagles (NFL) and the 76ers (NBA). Coming over to Europe, I missed that cultural experience.

Back then Como were in Serie B and it was almost like watching a college team back home. Not many were going to the games, I could walk there, it was cheap, my buddy lived round the corner, so we decided we would go and get that experience we were missing from back home in the States.

Tell us about the atmosphere….

There’s a vibe. I call them fancy-looking people and there’s more of them around now than when I first started going. It’s almost an LA-type vibe. Some local fans might feel that what is happening here has been a blessing and a curse.

You get this influx of new fans but there’s also the people who were watching them in Serie C and D.

The pre-game show is a lot more intense, the live music… it’s vastly different from what it was before. But there’s more fans there and when Como do something proper the place goes nuts and that’s really cool. There’s an energy and that’s nice.

What’s a matchday like away from the stadium?

It’s worth going downtown to where the tourists go. There’s great beer places around the different piazzas and it’s good to go simply for the experience. 

I’d recommend walking to the stadium with a beer in hand. There’s two or three bars round the corner from the ground. There’s one next to the airport hangar, right on the corner, called Pino. It’s nice for a beer and a snack and to basically just sit, hang out and watch the people go by. At some point the ultras will come by, chanting, dressed the same, and that’s quite an experience.

Piazza Cavour is the main square but if you walk from there towards the Sinigaglia, staying in the centre, you’ll find another piazza close by. There is a street there with a panini place that sells beer and that’s another good pre-game hang-out. There’s another good bar and during big games and tournaments they have couches outside. That’s really cool. Around there you’ll get plenty of fans in their jerseys and it’s a good mix.

Where else is good to go in Como?

Get into town. This place (Il Birratrovo) is fantastic. It’s outside the city just a little bit so it’s not tremendously overcrowded but on a game day it does get busy. They’ve got excellent draught beers and so many bottles and cans, really nice food – the pasta is great. There’s a nice vibe outside with the chairs on the street and in summer there’s a little beer garden. It’s just a really nice part of town that doesn’t get too touristy. There’s two cocktail bars just to the left but again, not a tourist trap.

And there’s Mystic Burger. The burgers are good and, again, so is the beer. It’s also nice to grab a kebab or a panini.

How far can this team go?

A part of me wishes they were still in Serie B because for me it was a more organic local experience. But living here and supporting the team, I’m happy they’re in Serie A and it would be awesome to see them in the Champions League. 

It’s nice having so many eyes on the team, there’s so many guys I teach about the team in my business and economics class – I never thought I’d be doing that. But part of me will always like the Serie B vibe – it’s casual but win or lose the diehard fans are there supporting the team. You can roll in in a t-shirt and shorts and feel fine, you know the people sitting round you and that doesn’t change.

When they went up (to Serie A), outside the stadium was amazing. We were there for the game but got there three hours before kick-off, hanging out, soaking it all up. There were planes docking, people getting off and just this level of excitement like, ‘holy shit, in a few hours we could be in Serie A’. Then afterwards, going out in the streets, it was bedlam, everyone celebrating, chanting. It was the best.

If this is Cesc Fabregas’s last year, it all depends on that next coach. Cesc is a phenomenal coach and he will want to coach in the Premier League. If the next coach is as good as Cesc, a top-four finish is on the table. The talent is there. Within three years they can be fighting for a top-four finish. 

What else does the future hold?

My matchday experience won’t change. But for some I can see it getting even more luxurious, full-day experiences. There could be a greater schism between the ultras, then the casual fan like me and then your tourist who comes for the experience. There will be greater attention to the tourist fan but I don’t think the day for your typical local Como fan will change too much. They’ve been doing this for years. For the tourist, it’ll become even more creative as they creep up the Serie A standings. It’s hard to top, but I’m sure they’ll manage it.

They’re my first and only football team. In Serie B, you saw that difference when Cesc was on the pitch. Now you see it with the guys they have playing. They’re making good signings, player development is good. They look like a proper team, like they really belong when they play Milan, Napoli… They look like they belong at the table.