The feeling at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, before he publicly stated that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it's been difficult to tell if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He joined initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of the player's talent. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
