The mood at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was Lazio's season coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
