The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
