The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized in their performances as they were off it, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was still trying to determine the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
