The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 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.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him 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. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
