The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a thread holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign 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
