The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
