The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
