When Mancini's Band Kept Playing
Lazio 2002-03
“By Saturday night, when the transfer market closes, Nesta or Crespo or both should have left Rome. That will leave a depressed squad consisting mainly of has-beens, such as Diego Simeone and Sinisa Mihajlovic, complemented by an array of not-quites. It is a terrible story, unless you enjoy seeing big spenders tumble.” (Simon Kuper, 2002)
Twenty years ago, it was summer in the Eternal City and getting hotter by the day. The food empire of Lazio Club President Sergio Cragnotti was on the brink of collapse and his football team returned home from a pre-season tour of England to a climate of heat and uncertainty.