The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
