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 let in 10 goals while managing only two goals in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their most recent demonstration in a continuous dispute with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or had there never been a binding element holding it together from the beginning? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri as head coach in the summer transfer window, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were set to be hit with for financial irregularities. Speculation that his departure was imminent were not true, but he stated that Lotito had "swindled" him.
Lazio appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. Throughout this period, it has been hard to determine if they're getting better or imploding.
Matteo's Surprising Return
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to remain with Lazio this season. He was on the last one on loan at Parma and, at the start of the off-season, his parent club were advocating for him to remain there a while longer. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Verona's academy. He accumulated 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, almost all of those as a substitute. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, whose tenure ended following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the nature of the player's talent. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself the majority of that term as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile at No 9. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
