The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
