The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
