The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
