Testing time for Inter

The atmosphere was that of the big occasion - 66,000 fans had just greeted the two sides with the usual colourfully choreographed cacophony of smoke, flares, horns, drums and fire bombs. Just as everyone was settling down to watch what was clearly Sunday's outstanding Serie A game, a disturbance broke out at the back of the VIP stand.

That disturbance had a name - Brazilian ace Ronaldo, yet again missing from the dramatis personnae of a vital game. The match was Lazio v Inter Milan at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, a game which represented perhaps the last chance for Inter to keep their title aspirations alive and a game which, in contrast, saw Lazio go undisputed top of the table for the first time since October 1974 thanks to their 1-0 win.

The only score came in the 38th minute from Portuguese midfielder Sergio Conceicao.

The great drama was being acted out, but Hamlet was - yet again - not on the stage. Looking relaxed and well and dressed in a handsome, full-length designer overcoat, Ronaldo's late arrival in the VIP stand set in motion a e posse of microphones, notepads and cameras. Pressed for a quote, Ronaldo shook his head and stopped to sign an autograph for a little boy before saying in tones of "don't-ask-me-again" finality: "I'm not playing and I'm not talking."

As one watched Inter do a successful imitation of a half-drowned rabbit for most of the first half, Ronaldo's absence was more than obvious. Even allowing for a spirited second half fightback in which Roberto Baggio was outstanding, Inter hardly did enough to deserve anything from this game. For two seasons now, this Inter team has been built around Ronaldo, even if more in psychological than in tactical terms. Even if the side is stuffed with world class players such as Baggio, Frenchman Youri Djorkaeff and Chilean Ivan Zamorano (to name Sunday's front line), Inter still look like the canoe without the paddle in the absence of Ronaldo. Little wonder that Inter's genial Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu muttered afterwards: "Inter with Ronaldo is a totally different team."

Sunday's defeat saw Inter drop to sixth place, 11 points behind Lazio and probably out of the title chase even if there are still 12 games to play. Furthermore, that defeat came four days after Inter had been beaten 2-0 by Parma in the first and home leg of an Italian Cup semi-final tie that ended amidst scenes of collective team hysteria. Three Inter players were sent off by referee Stefano Braschi for dissent after the first goal.

In effect, the Inter season now hinges on the Champions League in which they meet Manchester United in an appetising first leg, quarter-final tie at Old Trafford next week. Ronaldo, we are told, will be back not only for that match but also for next Saturday's home clash with reigning (and reviving) champions Juventus.

A final assessment of Inter's prospects against Manchester United can only be made in the wake of that clash with Juventus, but if Ronaldo does not return and return in some style, then United have a glorious opportunity against a side that lacks, above all, competitive character.

Lazio are now the outstanding favourites to win the Italian title. They were on everyone's shortlist at the beginning of the season, but long-term injuries to two key players, defender Alessandro Nesta and $28million striker Christian Vieri, delayed takeoff. Lazio's recent explosion has both the afore mentioned, with Nesta coming back in December and Vieri one month later. the talented duo.

Add to Vieri and Nesta names such as Chilean striker Marcelo Salas, midfielders Roberto Mancini, Argentine Matias Almeyda and Czech Pavel Nedved and Lazio begin to look like the real thing.

In a year when such as Juventus and Inter are already out of the running, when Fiorentina have just lost all-important Argentinian talisman Gabriel Batistuta for an injury enforced 40-day stop and when AC Milan, despite their current joint second place standing alongside Fiorentina, look less than ready, and one sees that this is Lazio's best chance of the last quarter century. Stand by for Roman fireworks.