The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
