The mood at their home stadium was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in ten goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Had their campaign falling apart, or had there never been a thread keeping it intact from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Return
At least one man kept smiling amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He spent the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
