The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
