The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
