The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
