The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
