The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
