The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
