The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or did there exist a thread maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
