The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
