The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their latest protest in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, before he admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a flank player on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games during spells with Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
