The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
