The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning 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 lacking backup options.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
