The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
