The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the management had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the remaining opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
