Como’s Champions League meeting with Manchester United will carry more than the weight of a European night by the lake. For Carlalberto Ludi, Como’s sporting director, it will also bring back Bruno Fernandes, once a teenage teammate at Novara and now captain of one of football’s grandest clubs.
The coach and the club
Ludi has helped shape Como’s rise from the lower divisions into Serie A and, now, the Champions League. His own route to this point began after the end of his playing career, which concluded at Novara in 2015-16. He first worked in Novara’s youth set-up as a technical assistant before becoming sporting director there.
In 2019 he joined Como, then newly promoted to Serie C. He became general manager in 2021 and later took on the sporting director’s role. Como’s promotion to Serie A in 2023-24 ended a 21-year absence from the top flight, another step in a climb that has altered the club’s place in Italian football.
That progress has now placed Ludi on the opposite side of the pitch from Fernandes, in a fixture neither man could reasonably have foreseen when they shared a dressing room more than a decade ago.
A Novara dressing room
Ludi and Fernandes played together during Novara’s 2012-13 Serie B campaign, when the side came close to earning promotion. Ludi, a former defender, was among the experienced figures in the squad. Fernandes was a young Portuguese midfielder arriving from Benfica for €40,000 after a scout went to watch another player and changed his mind within 20 minutes.
The talent was apparent, but Italian second-tier football demanded adjustments. Fernandes was inclined towards dribbles and ambitious curling attempts, while Novara’s matches taught him quickly that a lost ball could carry an immediate price.
Ludi was often one of those charged with guiding him through those early months. He once challenged Fernandes over his habit of remaining in his room at the club accommodation, above the changing rooms, until shortly before training began rather than mixing with the group.
Fernandes replied that it was meant as a sign of respect. He considered the older players established footballers and felt he should not intrude on their private time.
One early memory has stayed with Ludi. Fernandes came on late in a match at Lanciano with Novara trailing 1-0 and tried his luck from around 30 metres, missing the target entirely. To Ludi, the moment still represented the personality that Fernandes already possessed.
“I had hoped our paths would cross again, but doing so in the Champions League makes it even more special,” Ludi said. “He is humble, but he knows his worth. Friends like him are rare in football. We celebrated his successes because he earned every one of them.”
Ludi added that Fernandes had never felt distant to him despite becoming Manchester United captain. When Como signed Raphaël Varane, the two spoke and joked about the change in circumstances.
From Serie B to Europe
Fernandes left Novara for Serie A, playing for Udinese and Sampdoria before returning to Portugal with Sporting. His move to Manchester United turned him into a central figure at Old Trafford, where he has spent seven and a half seasons.
As United captain, he has won the FA Cup and the League Cup. With Portugal, he has also lifted the UEFA Nations League. His present contract runs until June 2027, with an option allowing United to extend it by a further year. Several clubs, including Italian sides, are interested in his future.
United arrive in a difficult period, having collected seven Premier League points and recorded one victory alongside one draw in the Champions League. Their European return is identical to Como’s, an unusual parallel between an established English institution and a club that has moved rapidly through Italy’s divisions over the past three years.
The reunion in Como will therefore be warm, but not sentimental once the match begins. Ludi will represent the club he helped take back to Serie A and onto the European stage; Fernandes will lead Manchester United. Both former Novara teammates will hear the Champions League anthem with very different responsibilities, and both will want the result.
