The miracle worker

Enterprising Mancini gives Lazio fans reason to cheer

Remember those old Star Trek episodes when the Enterprise's engines were close to meltdown and Scotty, the lovable Glaswegian chief engineer, somehow managed to keep the ship going despite Klingon attacks and assorted intergalactic adversity?

"Aye Captain, she's gonna blow. I can't keep her together! I'm not a miracle worker!" he'd bellow to Captain Kirk, who invariably would ask the impossible of Scotty.

Well, Lazio coach Roberto Mancini is his club's Scotty, and, like his Enterprise counterpart, he's working miracles with a team that seems to uncover new problems each day.

Lazio finds itself one point off the Serie A lead despite drowning in oceans of red ink that forced it to sell its two best players -- Alessandra Nesta to AC Milan and Hernan Crespo to Inter -- for a combined US$46 million last summer.

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In fact, Lazio's problems run much deeper. Its main shareholder, Cirio, which makes canned goods, defaulted on its bonds and stands on the brink of bankruptcy, much like the club itself.

As if that weren't enough, Valencia and Manchester United are taking legal action as they are still owed large chunks of cash on the transfers of Gaizka Mendieta and Jaap Stam, respectively.

It's no exaggeration to suggest the plug could be pulled at any time, though, given the largesse of Italy's soccer authorities, that probably won't happen.

Either way, just about the only support Mancini has received from chairman Sergio Cragnotti has been moral, not financial.

Last June, Mancini took over a team that was already being dismembered. Since winning the scudetto three years ago, Lazio has sold the following players: Pavel Nedved, Juan Sebastian Veron, Sergio Conceicao, Matias Almeyda, Marcelo Salas, Crespo and Nesta. Those guys have more than 600 international caps between them and yielded some $160 million in transfer fees.

Just as he did 21 years ago, when he made his Serie A debut as a 16-year-old for Bologna (a season in which he scored nine goals), Mancini didn't bat an eye and simply did his job.

He was left with a team of misfits, youngsters and players whose confidence had been totally shattered by the last few seasons.

Mancini plugged the hole in defense left by Nesta's departure by dusting off 33-year-old Yugoslav Sinisa Mihailovic, who spent much of last year on the bench. Brazilian misfit Cesar, who started just nine games last season, was turned into a productive left-sided midfielder. Stefano Fiore, a hero for Italy at Euro 2000, but a pricey and unmotivated benchwarmer since joining the club in July 2001 was shifted to a wide right position, and his probing, cutting passes have been one of the secrets to Lazio's success.

Up front, Mancini has gotten plenty of mileage out of Bernardo Corradi, a big young target man who arrived in part-exchange for Crespo, and there are high hopes for former Fiorentina hitman Enrico Chiesa, who was sidelined for 10 months through injury.

But perhaps the biggest success story is the man they call El Piojo, the "Flea," Argentine striker Claudio Lopez, who had been a bust since arriving from Valencia two years ago. The fans were getting on his back and he was coming off a nightmarish experience with Argentina at the World Cup. Furthermore, his hefty salary did little to endear him to the press.

"His problem is that he is so quick, he does everything at breakneck speed," says Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri, who coached Lopez at Valencia. "When that happens, you inevitably make mistakes. And Claudio is a confidence player; he needs to feel the warmth of the fans to be at his best."

Mancini not only provided that confidence, he also got Lopez to pick his spots, knowing when to slow down and when to do his Speedy Gonzales routine. Today he is probably as good, if not better, than when he led Valencia to the Champions League final four seasons back.

The lesson to be learned from Lazio is that a team with hungry, motivated players and above all a quality coach can overcome the sale of its biggest stars. The guys at Mancini's disposal may not be as talented as those they replaced and, in many cases, they were disappointing at first, but with a little patience and a lot of hard work, they have once again become productive.

Of course, all Mancini can do is keep his head down and continue working. No matter how well Lazio does on the pitch, it won't change the fact that this is a club on the brink of oblivion and that more players could be on their way out (particularly Stam and Dejan Stankovic, who have drawn the most interest from the vultures circling over Lazio's remains).

However, if only for a few months, Mancini has given the long-suffering Lazio fans something to smile about.

GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK

GOOD: Thierry Henry, who demolished Roma with a hat trick in the Champions League. Each goal was different; each was special. By the end of November, Henry will have played in 27 competitive matches since the start of the season -- not only does he score oodles of goals, he is also durable and workmanlike. A class act.

BAD WEEK: Barcelona fans, who showered Luis Figo with everything from whiskey bottles to pig's heads when he made his return to the Camp Nou for Real Madrid against Barcelona. Barca fans consider him a traitor, and they may well have a case. But hooligan-like behavior towards Figo and comments such as those from president Joan Gaspart ("Figo was provoking them") don't do them any favors and smear the image of the glorious Catalan club.

GOOD WEEK: Independiente, which all but wrapped up the Argentine title with a 1-1 draw against Boca Juniors. Not too shabby for a club that was on the brink of bankruptcy 12 months ago and only avoided being shut down thanks to the $20 million generated by the sale of Vicente Vuoso to Manchester City and Diego Forlan to Manchester United. Independiente fans might want to send Christmas cards to the people of Manchester.

BAD WEEK: Luciano (or Eriberto, as he was commonly known until last June), who was slapped with an eight-month ban by the Italian FA for playing with a fake identity. Six years ago, when he was 21, the Brazilian winger assumed the identity of a man named Eriberto in order to appear four years younger and thereby drum up some interest in his services. It worked: He earned a big move to Serie A and played exceptionally well. After the real Eriberto came forward and blackmailed him last summer, Luciano revealed the truth. For this, he will miss most of the Serie A season. He was wrong to do what he did, of course, but this is one case where the (severe) punishment doesn't fit the (victimless) crime.

Gabriele Marcotti covers international soccer for CNNSI.com.

 

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