The atmosphere at their home stadium was anything but joyful on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element maintaining its structure from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he publicly stated that the management had not mentioned the transfer ban they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to tell if they are improving or imploding.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
At least one man kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio during this campaign. He was on the previous campaign at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were attempting to stay there for another season. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived originally during Sarri's previous tenure, at that time a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 matches in the league for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those coming off the bench. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left following that term, later stated Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star but then not selecting him."
Finding His Best Role
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to identify the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as an attacking winger upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. During 63 outings during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
