The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to reduce their roster 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 made 20 matches in the league with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was still trying to work out the nature of the player's talent. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
