The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a thread holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
