The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
