The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
