The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
