The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were facing for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club became as messy on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
