The feeling at Lazio's home ground was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had conceded ten goals while scoring only two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Had their campaign unraveling, or had there never been a binding element holding it together from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that he could resign were not true, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. At any given moment, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He was on the previous campaign with Parma on loan and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were attempting to stay there a while longer. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team with no new signings.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 Serie A appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, almost all of those coming off the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the specific characteristics of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
