The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, before he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for accounting issues. Reports that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
A single player remained positive throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn