The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed a total of 10 goals while scoring only two in their previous five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were concluding their ongoing dissent in an ongoing feud with chairman Claudio Lotito.
A Season Coming Unstitched?
Was the team's progress unraveling, or did there exist a binding element keeping it intact in the first place? The club brought back Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for financial irregularities. Reports that he could resign were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti were just as chaotic during matches as they were off it, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the rest of their opening fixtures, featuring the derby della Capitale. From one game to the next, it's been difficult to determine if they're getting better or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive amid the chaos. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this season. He spent last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to extend his stay a while longer. The transfer ban led to a change of plans. Lazio could not afford to thin their squad without replacements.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old product of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances for Lazio in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. The club's longtime sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Natural Fit
Maybe Sarri was still trying to determine the exact type of Cancellieri's abilities. Billed as a wide forward upon signing, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile at No 9. In 63 appearances while playing for Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
