The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
