The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
