The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
