The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described 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 over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
