The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
