The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
