The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
