The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Rumours that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club were just as chaotic on the pitch as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Comeback
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to remain there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Uncovering His True Position
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
