The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he admitted that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
