The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
