The feeling at their home stadium was decidedly gloomy during the weekend fixture. The Biancocelesti found themselves behind against Torino, a team that had let in a total of 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 club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been any cohesion holding it together in the first place? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as manager during the off-season, before he admitted that the club had omitted to inform him about a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were unfounded, but he stated that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti became as messy in their performances as behind the scenes, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, featuring the derby della Capitale. At any given moment, it has been hard to ascertain if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Unexpected Presence
One individual kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one with Parma on loan and, during the summer break, his parent club were advocating for him to stay there temporarily. The signing restriction led to a change of plans. The club couldn't risk to thin their squad with no new signings.
Cancellieri arrived originally when Sarri was last in charge, back then just 20 years old product of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances in Lazio colors in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Discovering His Natural Fit
It's possible the coach was still trying to identify the exact type of the player's talent. Labeled as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
