The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, an opponent that had let in a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, but then he to later acknowledge that the management had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were facing for fiscal problems. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in their other opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to remain with Lazio this season. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there a while longer. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. They were unable to reduce their roster with no new signings.
He signed originally when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His True Position
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to determine the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
