The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
