The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
