The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 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 following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
