The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he publicly stated that the club 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 did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
