The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
