Suddenly Champions League, not a collapse? German's stunning comeback

Suddenly Champions League, not a collapse? German's stunning comeback

"When you look at our team, you quickly realize: Fàbregas didn’t just make me better, he made all of us better and, to some extent, took us to a new level," Marc Oliver Kempf raved about his coach Cesc Fàbregas to 'Sport1' in March 2025, while he was in the process of establishing himself with Como in Serie A.

Kempf managed to raise that level even further within a year and, in April 2026, is firmly on course for the Champions League. A return to Europe’s premier club competition once again had seemed almost impossible for the 31-year-old just a few years ago.

After Kempf had become no more than a backup at VfB Stuttgart in the 2022/23 season, he decided to move to Hertha BSC in the winter. Backed by major investor money, the Old Lady was supposed to become a “Big City Club.” The project failed spectacularly. Kempf was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga with Hertha in the summer of 2023 and, at 28, was no longer even under contract at a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues. When everything already looked like a downward spiral, Cesc Fàbregas saw something very different in Kempf.

After winning promotion to Serie A with Como in the summer of 2024, the coach and former world-class player wanted to lure him to Lombardy.

📸 Maja Hitij - 2024 Getty Images

"Shortly before the end of the transfer window in the summer, my agent told me that Como were interested. Not long after that, the coach called me and we had a 10- to 15-minute conversation to get a feel for each other. We talked about the sporting direction, how he sees me, and how I feel," Kempf told 'Sport1'. A few days later, Como brought the defender to Italy for €2.5 million.

Kempf impressed from the very beginning and has since become a regular in Fàbregas’ side. Unlike especially during his time at VfB Stuttgart and Hertha, Kempf has managed to consistently deliver strong performances at the foot of Lake Como and has also stood out in particular for his goal threat.

In the current campaign, the defender has already scored four goals in 27 league matches. The reasons for his resurgence also seem to lie in the environment at Como, as Kempf himself confirmed: "I couldn’t name a single person at the club about whom I’d say: wow, that guy is really weird. That does you a lot of good — it makes you feel genuinely comfortable overall."

That apparently wasn’t always the case before. As Kempf revealed, he repeatedly struggled with mental issues, especially in Berlin. So after extremely good spells from the quick, ball-playing defender, weaker periods kept following. In Italy, since his move, it feels like things have only been going upward.

In the current season, the former Hertha man is part of the best defense in Serie A. In 31 league matches, the Lombardy side have conceded just 22 goals — the best record in Italy and, together with Arsenal, also among Europe’s top five leagues. Thanks in part to that defensive wall, Como are unbeaten in eight matches and during that run have beaten Juventus (3-1) and AS Roma (2-1), among others.

Where one of the best defensive units in Europe belongs should be obvious.

📸 ISABELLA BONOTTO - AFP or licensors

That’s right: in the Champions League. With seven matchdays left in the season, Kempf and Como sit in an automatic qualification spot for Europe’s top club competition. Fittingly, on Sunday, CL giants and league leaders Inter come to Lake Como. Perhaps the perfect opportunity for Kempf to score his fifth goal of the season?

He already found the net against Milan this season. So a goal against their city rivals would only be fair.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.