The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
