The time is around six o'clock on a cold February evening. Through the twilight, a lone figure can just about be identified, doing laps of the pitch at Formello, the training ground of Serie A leaders Lazio. For once, the figure in question is not an injured player trying to run his way back to full fitness with extra workouts. No, the lone jogger is team coach Sven Goran Eriksson, the Swede who is hoping to guide Lazio to their first Italian title success in 25 years and only their second in history.
The sight of the 51-year-old Eriksson jogging through the twilight of Lazio's countryside retreat about 30 kilometres north of Rome seems peculiarly apt. Polished, affable, intelligent and eloquent (be it in Italian, English or Portuguese), Eriksson has always seemed a man apart in an Italian soccer community where many of his colleagues, wary of the media's intentions, resort to a dull manager-speak when faced with microphones and note pads.
With their triumphant 6-1 drubbing of second-from-bottom Salernitana on Sunday, Lazio confirmed their position on top of Serie A. With 10 games remaining before the season ends on May 25th, Lazio are four points clear.
Sunday's win came just three days after Lazio effectively put themselves into the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup with a 4-0 defeat of Greek side Panionios in the first leg of their quarter-final in Athens.
This time 12 months ago Lazio were flying high on three competitive fronts - they were in the leading three in Serie A and on their way to a place in both the UEFA and Italian Cup finals. By the end of the season, however, Lazio had faded to finish sixth in Serie A, lost the UEFA Cup final to Inter Milan and collected only the Italian Cup trophy by way of compensation.
But Eriksson does not expect another blow-up. This season's Lazio is, of course, a different side from last year strengthened (at a total cost of $110 million approximately) by Chilean striker Marcelo Salas, Italian international striker Christian Vieri, Yugoslav midfielder Dejan Stankovic, Portuguese midfielder Sergio Conceicao and Yugoslav sweeper and free-kick expert Sinisa Mihajlovic.
Despite such a cast, Lazio were slow into their stride this season, even losing to such as Venezia and Salernitana last autumn which put them closer to the relegation zone than to the top of the table.
Eriksson suggests there is no mystery to his side's improvement since then: "We had too many players missing . . . especially Vieri and (defender Alessandro) Nesta, they are simply too important for us but when we have everybody back, then we're a very good team . . ."
Handling a championship challenger is no new experience for Eriksson who in 33 seasons as a professional coach has won one Swedish title (Gothenburg, '82) and three Portuguese titles (Benfica '83, '84, '91) as well as a UEFA Cup (Gothenburg '81). Perhaps of more relevance, though, was Eriksson's experience on the other side of the Tiber (so to speak) some 13 seasons ago when coach to AS Roma. That was the year when his Roma side, inspired by Carlo Ancelotti, Brazilian Cerezo and Pole Zbgniew Boniek, almost overturned the Michel Platinidriven Juventus with a remarkable second half of season fightback that took to within a point of Juventus before they crumbled with an inexplicable defeat 2-3 home defeat by Lecce on the penultimate day of the season.
Eriksson has always sworn that his biggest mistake was not to isolate the Roma players completely, taking them far away from Rome and the fans. Has he emergency plans this time?
"Well, I cannot take away the team for 12 weeks. So far, our supporters are behaving well, they're not here having parties and causing problems all the time. I hope we are intelligent enough to make the most of our situation."
