The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a side that had let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him publicly stated that the board had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
A single player kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of his skill set. Labeled as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
