The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating 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 ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
