The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
One individual kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
