The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
