Lazio Woe As Juve Tempt Nedved
Wednesday 14th March 2001
Lazio are struggling to keep their season on the rails after defeat to
Bologna seriously dented their hopes of retaining the scudetto. Dino Zoff's
team is beset with injuries, Juventus are trying to tempt away winger Pavel
Nedved and some fans even hope they lose to Juve on Sunday so that Roma are
pegged back in the title race.
The Biancocelesti's charge up Serie A under new coach Dino Zoff was abruptly
halted by their 2-0 defeat at the Renato Dall'Ara stadium at the weekend.
They are now 11 points behind Roma with 12 games to play and even though
they still have to face the two teams above them, many people are writing
Lazio off.
To add to the mood of gloom at the club, their first team squad has been
weakened by injuries and suspension. Alessandro Nesta, Diego Simone,
Juan-Sebastian Veron and Angelo Peruzzi are all carrying knocks, while
Sinisa Mihajlovic and Fernando Couto are banned from Sunday's do-or-die
clash with Juventus at the Olympic Stadium.
Thanks to Zoff's record of six wins in eight games since taking over from
Sven-Goran Eriksson in January, Lazio are virtually certain of taking part
in their third successive Champions' League campaign next season. Yet that
has not stopped some of their Serie A rivals circling their talent-heavy
squad.
"Juventus and Luciani Moggi have recently expressed an interest in Pavel
Nedved," Lazio chief executive Massimo Cragnotti revealed. "Nedved's future
is with Lazio and he's not for sale.
"If Mr Moggi wants to talk business with us, by all means - let's sit down
and discuss Edgar Davids. I like that player a lot."
The Biancocelesti director, son of club president Sergio Cragnotti, also
insisted Lazio still had something to play for and blasted those fans who
were contemplating supporting Juventus on Sunday out of animosity towards
arch rivals Roma.
"If I had any doubts about the small-mindedness of this city, they're gone,"
he raged. "We have to concentrate on ourselves and produce a great
performance. The prestige of this team is at stake, we're the champions. I
don't want to hear any arguments, fans should support their team to the
end."
Veteran striker Fabrizo Ravanelli echoed Cragnotti's defiance and claimed
Lazio could still retain their title. "Since Zoff has taken over, we've had
a great run and were catching up. The only problem was that Roma and
Juventus never let up. Unfortunately at Bologna we lost without even putting
up a fight and now we are in trouble.
"Eleven points are a lot but we must fight until the end. We're lucky, we
have the chance of wearing the shirt of one of the most prestigious clubs in
the world. I still believe we can win the scudetto."
