The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
