The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as a struggling deputy 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
