Speaking to journalist Hanif Thamrin on his YouTube channel, Suwarso also dismissed the suggestion that he discovered Baturina through the football management game Football Manager. Instead, he credited transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano with bringing the Croatian midfielder to his attention.
“No, that’s not how it happened. In fact, Fabrizio Romano recommended Baturina to me. One day he asked whether I was interested in getting to know this player. I didn’t know him, so he explained that an agent wanted to meet me,” Suwarso said.
The Como president then asked the club’s data-analysis department to assess whether Baturina could adapt quickly to Italian football. The player was still at Dinamo Zagreb, and Como wanted to establish whether he could make an immediate contribution in Serie A.
But Suwarso revealed that Baturina had not been the club’s first choice. Como had initially reached an agreement with Dinamo Zagreb over Sučić, now an Inter player, before the financial demands surrounding the deal brought negotiations to an end.
“We had already reached an agreement with the club. The problem was that the agents’ commissions were almost equivalent to the transfer fee. For us, that made no sense, so we abandoned the deal and moved on to Baturina.”
Como had originally been looking for a number eight, a role Suwarso felt Sučić would have filled. Baturina represented a different profile, but the club decided the opportunity was worth pursuing once the original transfer became impractical.
The revelation offers a glimpse into how Como’s recruitment decisions are made, combining recommendations from outside the club with internal data analysis and financial discipline. Suwarso’s account also underlines the importance the club places on the overall cost of a transfer, rather than simply agreeing a fee with the selling team.
Baturina has since become an important part of Como’s project. His performances have attracted attention, and he featured in the club’s remarkable 4-1 Champions League victory over Manchester United on Wednesday, in which Nico Paz scored twice alongside goals from Tasos Douvikas and Jacobo Ramón.
For Suwarso, the story is a reminder that successful recruitment does not always follow the expected path. Como’s original target went elsewhere, but the club found an alternative through a recommendation, assessed his suitability and completed a deal that has helped shape its squad.