The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
