The mood at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season 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, before he to later acknowledge that the club had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
