The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last 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.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
