The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Had their campaign unraveling, or did there exist a thread keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of the player's talent. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
