The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
