The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected 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 pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the nature of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
