The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or did there exist a thread holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
