The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, 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 remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
