The mood at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had allowed ten goals while netting just two in their last five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Falling Apart?
Was Lazio's season falling apart, or was there ever any cohesion keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager this summer, but then he publicly stated that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but falling short in the rest of their first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to ascertain if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
One individual remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio during this campaign. He completed the previous campaign on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his parent club were pushing for him to remain there for another season. The registration embargo led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His True Position
It's possible the coach was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
