The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
