The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
