The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
