The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally under Sarri's first spell, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup 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
