The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had let in 10 goals while scoring only two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Speculation that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, his owning club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster with no new signings.
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 in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
