The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
Cancellieri's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He completed the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn