The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches 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. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
