The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had allowed a total of 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 club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
One individual continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
He joined in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
It's possible the coach was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
