The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
