The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to stay there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
