The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
