The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him admitted that the club had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
