The atmosphere at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion holding it together to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the club had omitted to inform him about the transfer ban they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that his departure was imminent were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, observers have struggled to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to extend his stay for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to weaken their team without replacements.
He joined originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those coming off the bench. The ex- 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."
Discovering His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
