The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
