The feeling at the Stadio Olimpico was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Return
At least one man continued to smile through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this year. He spent the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, early this summer, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived initially during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left at the end of that season, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
