The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in ten goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread holding it together in the first place? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
