The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
A single player continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were attempting to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to work out the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
