The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters 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 unraveling, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, but then he admitted that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Return
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Finding His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
