The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Presence
One individual continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
