The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
