The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, 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. Speculation that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
