The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
