The mood at their home stadium was anything but joyful during the weekend fixture. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a binding element keeping it intact from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, but then he to later acknowledge that the club had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for financial irregularities. Speculation that he might quit were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining initial five matches, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Surprising Presence
At least one man continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this year. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. They were unable to thin their squad with no new signings.
He signed in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Discovering His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was still trying to work out the specific characteristics of his skill set. Originally described as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings while playing for Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
