The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose the transfer ban they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this year. He spent last season with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the specific characteristics of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
