The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
