The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
