The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
