The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Had their campaign falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged 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 being defeated in their other first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
