The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
