Some matches begin long before kick-off.
For us, Como-Venezia began on 9 September 1990, when Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
Nine days before its release in the United States, audiences in Venice watched for the first time the film that would become known in Italy as Quei bravi ragazzi. Scorsese won the Silver Lion for Best Director, as Venice celebrated the beginning of the journey of a work destined to enter cinema history.
More than thirty years later, that opening scene in Venice comes to life once again. No longer on a screen at the Lido, but on the cover of a match that will bring Venezia to the shores of Lake Como.
Why We Chose Goodfellas
Three faces emerge from the darkness. Three performers, three roles and three different ways of changing the course of the story.
Nico Paz takes the position of Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta. He is the protagonist and narrator of Como’s story, the player through whom the plot can suddenly change direction.
Nico Paz represents invention. He can receive the ball in a seemingly harmless area and, in an instant, create space that did not yet exist. A touch, a turn or a pass between the lines is all he needs to open up a scene that had seemed impossible. When the game needs an idea, the ball finds its way to his feet. From that moment on, anything can happen.
Lucas Da Cunha takes the central position occupied by Jimmy Conway, played by Robert De Niro. Charismatic, composed and calculating, he represents the connection between the different areas of the team and the point of balance within the story.
Lucas Da Cunha supports the build-up, moves between the lines and connects the construction of the play with the final third. Where others see separate moments, Da Cunha creates continuity. He is the thread holding the different scenes together, the presence that allows Como to move forward without losing their structure, identity or control.
Tasos Douvikas takes the position of Tommy DeVito, played by Joe Pesci. He is the finisher, the man for the final scene, the striker with the killer instinct.
His territory is the penalty area. His moment comes when the ball cuts through the chaos and asks only to be turned into a goal. Douvikas does not need to write the entire story. He must recognise the decisive moment and leave his mark before the door closes again.
Paz creates. Da Cunha connects. Douvikas finishes.
Three protagonists, one story.
Directed by Cesc Fàbregas
If Scorsese was the director of Goodfellas, Cesc Fàbregas is the director of Como.
He chooses the performers, assigns their roles and builds a shared vision through possession, the occupation of space and the team’s movement. Every player enters the scene with a specific role. Every pass sets up the next one. Every movement can open up a new shot.
But unlike cinema, football does not offer second takes.
Fàbregas will enter the Sinigaglia with a plan, but without knowing the final scene. A goal can turn the plot upside down. A mistake can change the protagonists’ fate. A moment of inspiration can transform a deadlocked match into a story worth remembering.
In football, the script is written as it is being performed.
From the Lido to the Sinigaglia
In September 1990, Venice welcomed the world premiere of Goodfellas and honoured Scorsese’s direction.
On Sunday, the scene will move from the Lido to the shores of Lake Como.
There will be no red carpets. There will be no stunt doubles. Most importantly, there will be no second takes.
There will be ninety minutes, two teams and a stadium ready to witness a story whose ending has yet to be written. Every challenge could change the rhythm. Every pass could open up a new scene. Every chance could decide who will still be standing when the credits begin to roll.
The cast has been chosen.
The stage is set.
The director has prepared the scene.
When the lights come on at the Sinigaglia, only one thing will remain to be done: turn the match into cinema.
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