The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
