The atmosphere at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He completed the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
