The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
