The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
