The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
