The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
