The atmosphere at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Supporters 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 had there never been a thread maintaining its structure in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri to lead the team this summer, only for him publicly stated that the club had omitted to inform him about a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Presence
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio during this campaign. He completed the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The transfer ban forced a rethink. The club couldn't risk to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio 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 "telling everyone Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to determine the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma in the past two years, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
