The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a side that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he admitted that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were about to receive for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
One individual remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He spent the last one at Parma as a loanee 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. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those from the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
