The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
