The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the nature of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
