The mood at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he to later acknowledge that the board had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad without replacements.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
