The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
