The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever a thread maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, before he admitted that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he might quit were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player continued to smile amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The signing restriction forced a rethink. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He signed in the first place when Sarri was last in charge, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league with the club 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 was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Uncovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn