The mood at Lazio's home ground was decidedly gloomy on Saturday afternoon. The home side was losing against Torino, a team that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were concluding their latest protest in a long-running conflict with president Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as manager in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the board had not mentioned a registration embargo they were about to receive for accounting issues. Rumours that he could resign were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized in their performances as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in their other initial five matches, which included the capital clash. Throughout this period, it has been hard to tell if progress is being made or imploding.
Matteo's Unexpected Return
One individual continued to smile throughout. Matteo Cancellieri was not even supposed to be at Lazio this season. He completed last season at Parma as a loanee and, during the summer break, Lazio were attempting to extend his stay a while longer. The registration embargo necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to weaken their team lacking backup options.
Cancellieri arrived in the first place under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 league appearances with the club in that campaign, the vast majority of those as a substitute. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who left after that campaign, would later accuse Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri was destined for stardom then never playing him."
Finding His Natural Fit
Perhaps the manager was persistently working to determine the nature of his skill set. Labeled as a wide forward when he joined, Cancellieri instead found himself much of that season as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. In 63 appearances during spells with Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he netted seven goals. Shoehorn
