The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
