The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
