The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
