The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
