The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
