The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy during the weekend fixture. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Supporters from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or was there ever any cohesion maintaining its structure from the beginning? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, but then he admitted that the management had not mentioned a registration embargo they were facing for accounting issues. Reports that he could resign were without basis, but he did say that Lotito had "deceived" him.
Lazio became as messy in their performances as off the field, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, observers have struggled to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Comeback
At least one man remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to be at Lazio during this campaign. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, Lazio were pushing for him to extend his stay temporarily. The transfer ban necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He signed in the first place during Sarri's previous tenure, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended at the end of that season, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to work out the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as an attacking winger on arrival, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
