The feeling at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Had their campaign coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, observers have struggled to ascertain if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the last one with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of his skill set. Originally described as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
