The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
