The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or had there never been a thread maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were attempting to stay there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
