The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind 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 long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a binding element maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
