The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded ten goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was Lazio's season unraveling, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach during the off-season, before he publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Rumours that he might quit were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Roman club became as messy during matches as off the field, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other initial five matches, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
One individual kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to remain there for another season. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Discovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was persistently working to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
