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Como are extremely strong and can challenge for the Serie A title.

Daniele De Rossi, one of the most compelling coaches to listen to in this Serie A because of the depth of his ideas and his strikingly frank honesty, spoke very clearly last night: "Como are a really very strong team. Perhaps they are the team who have impressed me most since I have been here at Genoa and have come here to Genoa to play. Here at Marassi I had not yet seen a team like them, both individually and collectively."

Those are not the remarks of an overexcited supporter or a pundit looking for a dramatic headline. They are the immediate, almost instinctive reaction of a manager who understands football from the inside and has plainly recognised the same thing that the sharpest observers have already seen: Como really are very strong.

Strong enough, and it is worth saying that as early as the third matchday so there is no room for confusion, that on the pitch they can compete for the Serie A title.

No, this is not an outrageous statement or the usual early-season exaggeration. It is an opinion based on a number of points that need to be made straight away.

First of all, there is exactly what De Rossi himself pointed out. Como are strong, they have personality and they play the kind of modern football that so many teams aim for. Full stop. At home or away. Against big clubs or smaller ones, Cesc Fabregas's Como always try to impose themselves on the match. And they almost always manage to do it. That was already the case last season. It is even more true now. When a team know what they want to do and how to do it, and often get the result as well, why should they not be considered seriously? Because of the badge on their shirt? At the moment, what mainly remains of the traditional giants in Italian football is their history. And Cristian Chivu's half-provocative comments about AC Milan and Juventus, made yesterday in his press conference, contain a degree of truth if one is prepared to look beyond the usual bar-room arguments.

There is also a psychological and emotional dimension to this. Fabregas's Como are young, very young by the standards of a Serie A that is still trying, and only just managing, to renew itself. But this is youth in the best possible sense. A certain swagger, that is the word. They play without the weight of history on their shoulders and that is why they are bold: they press high, they hunt the ball immediately after losing it, and they accept the risk of leaving space behind them rather than giving up their identity. It is modern football, vertical in its mentality even when the build-up is horizontal, and it is a style that creates serious problems for opponents used to a different kind of game. That is why De Rossi, accustomed to reading matches first as a midfielder and only afterwards as a coach, was impressed as much by the individuals as by the collective: it is the perfect summary of what Como have become.

The second point is more practical, but just as important: squad depth. The arrivals of Milla and Samuele Ricci in midfield are not signings made merely to add numbers, but a possible solution to the endurance of the area that is central to the control demanded by the manager. Two extra options give Cesc's trusted midfielders the chance to recover when the fixture list becomes congested. In the central attacking role, the signing of Moise Kean brings precisely what had been missing: a real alternative to Douvikas, a different type of player, someone capable of attacking space and ensuring goals even when matches become tight. He is not simply an alternative, nor a starter "by default", especially considering the valuable work Douvikas provides, but another high-level option to use. From the first minute or during the match. In short, Como have improved. Their squad is certainly not Inter's, that is true, but it is still sufficiently deep.

Another factor matters just as much as, if not more than, the names available in the squad: time. This is the fourth year with Fabregas on the bench, and the playing principles can only become more and more automatic. Como have completely absorbed a footballing idea. They play even faster, make fewer mistakes and remain recognisable even in difficult moments. That, in the end, is the difference between repeating a script and truly living it.

The clearest objection is also the most obvious one anyone would raise about a club dealing with European commitments for the first time: the Champions League. "It will drain energy, split focus, physically wear down a squad not used to balancing two competitions." That has been the main argument surrounding Como since the end of last season and throughout the summer. Fair enough, it is a valid concern. But the recent history of our league suggests a different outcome from the one many fear.

Exactly the same was said about Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta when they made their European debut. In their first genuine season among Europe's elite, that Atalanta side not only held firm but reached the Champions League quarter-finals. In the league? They finished third, not far behind Maurizio Sarri's Juventus, who won the Serie A title, and Antonio Conte's Inter, who ended behind Juventus. Burnout never arrived. The added workload gave that team rhythm, international experience and hunger. There is no reason to think Como cannot experience the same positive paradox.

Even at this early stage, the opening signs have already revealed a lot: Fabregas's Como have the numbers, the right age profile, the footballing identity and now the squad as well not to stop at the role of "surprise" - though surprise of what, really? - from last season. De Rossi's words do not sound like simple pleasantries either. If anything, they sound like a warning to the rest.