The feeling at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay temporarily. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
