The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
