The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the club had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, Lazio were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
