The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
